How to Save the Environment in Two Easy Steps
by Maelstra
Summary: FFIV, postgame. After the War of the Crystals, the Lunarians were supposed to leave forever. Now they're back on Cecil's doorstep. Sequel to Allergies and a Harp.
1. What Dreams May Come

_I don't own FFIV. I'm sure you guessed that already. This is a sequel to "Allergies and a Harp," although it's not necessary to read that story first in order to understand this one. It's strange -- I really thought I would never write a sequel to "Allergies," but this story just sort of came out of nowhere._

_I welcome all feedback, including suggestions for improvement. Especially pointing out mechanical errors or plotholes. _

_I will post subsequent chapters as soon as I reproof them. I'll aim for once a week at least._

_I hope you enjoy this story!_

**Please note:** I've found that this site doesn't like my creative use of punctuation -- such as tildes. So, telepathic conversations will be indicated by _(italics)_ inside parenthesis.

* * *

**How to Save the Environment in Two Easy Steps**

_**Step One – kill a lot of monsters.**_

_**Step Two – make the Lunarians go away.**_

_by Maelstra_

* * *

**Chapter One – What Dreams May Come**

Kain fell out of his bunk with a scream. He was simultaneously shivering and sweating, and his skin was completely prickled in goose bumps. He crouched on the floor, palms flush against the icy stone floor, just trying to get his breath back, just trying to reassure himself that the world he presently saw around him was real.

In his nightmare, Golbez had come for him again.

Though Kain rationally knew that the half-lunarian wizard was far, far away from him – and though he strongly suspected that his ex-captor was now much more benign in the absence of Zemus's influence . . . nevertheless, his subconscious mind could not let him forget.

The dream's images still lingered in Kain's mind, so much more vivid than reality. Golbez had called Kain's name, and appeared in his concealing, black armor, just as before. Then he had removed his helmet, revealing a tangle of white, lunarian hair that topped a skull instead of a face. The toothy jaw grinned, then Golbez spread his arms wide apart. Suddenly he held a wooden board in each hand, such as used to manipulate puppet strings. He jerked his arms around sharply, and Kain suddenly found himself moving against his will. Helpless, he watched in horror as his traitorous hands drew out a blood-red spear – and then, against his volition, he stalked through the castle, hunting down all the inhabitants one, by one, by one . . .

The door to Kain's private room flew open. Kain gasped and drew back at the sudden sound.

A pair of nervous guards peered in. "Sir! Sir? Is . . . everything alright? We thought we heard a . . ."

"It's fine," Kain replied stiffly, hurrying to his feet. "Just a dream – it's nothing. Go back to your posts."

There was hesitance in the guards' eyes. Kain was sure it was doubt of his trustworthiness – or even doubt of his sanity. Nothing had been the same since he had been used by Golbez. But before he could add anything more, though, the guards saluted quickly and departed. They left the wooden door open as they left.

Kain walked over to shut the door, then stopped. What was the point? Sleep had fled far away from him, and would not return while images of the nightmare still lingered in his mind. Kain instead pulled on some boots to cover his stocking feet, threw his sheets into a messy heap on his bed, then went into the corridor for a walk.

The hallways of the castle even proved too confining for him. Kain headed out onto the battlements where he could stare down at the sleeping castle and the village beyond. Baron was still a tense place by daylight; anyone who knew he had been under Golbez's command would try to avoid him. And maybe he was just paranoid, but it seemed like dark looks followed him everywhere he went. At least now, at night, he had peace.

_(Kain?)_

Kain jumped. He heard Golbez's voice as clearly as if the man was standing right next to him, nothing like the faint whisper he'd heard when Golbez had last called to him from distant space. He expected to spin around and see that human-like monster in his black armor, just like in his dream. When Kain surveyed the whole battlement around him, and even looked up into the sky and still found nothing, he only grew more worried. _This is it. I've really snapped now! First I dream he's still controlling me, and then I think I can hear him. Next, I'll probably –!_

_(Kain? Are you awake now?)_

Kain shivered from his head down to his toes. He aimed his thoughts directly at his unseen tormentor. (_Leave me alone, Golbez!! I'm not supposed to hear you anymore! You're supposed to be gone, __gone__ forever!! Stop talking to me!!!)_

_(Oh good – you __are__ awake, at last. I was getting worried. You see, I need your help . . .)_

_(No!!! Absolutely not! Leave me alone! I don't want to go crazy . . .)_ Kain grabbed onto the stone wall before him, as though it could somehow anchor him from being swept away by this wave of madness. He heard shouts coming from within the castle, and belatedly realized that he had actually expressed his last thoughts aloud.

_(Kain, what I really mean is . . . is FuSoYa needs your help. I'm just relaying the message on his behalf.)_

_(FuSoYa?) _Kain thought back incredulously. (_Needs __my__ help? May I point out, __Golbez__, that I am currently on the Blue Planet and not about to go anyw–)_

_(So is FuSoYa. I mean, he is also on the Blue Planet. He came back because he needs Cecil's help–)_

_(So why don't you ask Cecil to help him?)_

_(I tried! Cecil wouldn't wake up! But you did – so that's why I'm asking __you!)_

_(Uh-huh.)_ Kain's breathing finally settled back to more normal. Now that he was slowly becoming truly awake, he realized that his whole nightmare might have just been engineered by his mind in response to hearing Golbez's voice again. The man probably had no idea of the trauma his midnight call had caused.

Of course, even if he wasn't being malevolent, there was no reason for Kain to simply trust him either. (_So what you're saying is that FuSoYa, the great Lunarian mage, has suddenly come back to the Blue Planet to find Cecil – and now this great mage needs __my__ help?)_

Golbez started sounding a little frustrated. (_He doesn't need __your__ help – he just needs __somebody__ to help him! He tried to land next to Baron, but failed. Now, he is being attacked by swarms of monsters – monsters that are __immune__ to magic attacks! So will you __please__ go to assist him?!)_

A doorway opened at the far end of the battlement, and Kain heard brisk footsteps. He ignored it for the moment. Kain was still not convinced of Golbez's honesty, but if FuSoYa really was in danger . . . (_So, you're saying you want me to go alone?)_

_(No! Kain, please – FuSoYa needs help now! Go alone or take the whole army of Baron with you. Wake up Cecil, too, if it pleases you. Just please, please hurry! FuSoYa landed roughly halfway between Mist and Baron. I think he's . . . just east of the main trail right now.)_

"Sir? Is something the matter?"

It was one of the soldiers who had run to his door before. Kain started strongly suspecting that Cecil was having his door watched at night. Evidently the king trusted him no more than Kain trusted Golbez. _Hardly a surprise, though,_ Kain thought to himself. But the soldier was waiting for an answer, and Kain could hear other guards coming. He thought quickly. "I was taking a walk to clear my head . . . and I just heard from a messenger that a swarm of monsters is attacking a small party of travelers just north of Baron."

Three other guards arrived by then and caught the last part of Kain's explanation. Baron had so many new soldiers now, after Golbez and the fiends had wiped out so many of the others – but Kain recognized the blond, Jared, in the back. He looked concerned. One of the newer guards at the front saluted and asked, "What are your orders, Captain?"

Kain was surprised by such respect, and assumed this guard had yet to hear the full story of Kain's vile betrayal. But still, it gave him some hope. "Ah . . . I was considering whether we ought to wake the king, to inform him . . . But unless the situation proves very serious, I don't think we should bother him." These guards might be willing to buy that Kain 'just happened' to get word from a messenger that no one else had seen – but Cecil definitely wouldn't swallow it. And Kain didn't like going on Golbez's word either . . . but FuSoYa was Cecil's highly-esteemed uncle, and if he truly was in danger, then Cecil would surely go to his aid. Kain set his voice authoritatively. "Gather a medium-sized scouting party. I'll lead it personally to investigate this report. And assign someone to inform the king, on his waking, of where we've gone. Understood?"

"Yes sir." The formal one saluted again, and the others carelessly followed suit a moment later.

Kain just brushed through them to head back to his room without another word. His heart was pounding again as he belatedly thought about how bad things were going to look for him if any part of this mission proved to be a trap.


	2. Misplaced

_I don't own FFIV. I'm sure you guessed that already. As always, I welcome all feedback, including suggestions for improvement. Especially pointing out mechanical errors or plotholes. _

_Since this chapter is so short, I'm putting the next one right up, too. I hope you enjoy!_

* * *

**How to Save the Environment in Two Easy Steps**

_**Step One – kill a lot of monsters.**_

_**Step Two – make the Lunarians go away.**_

_by Maelstra_

* * *

**Chapter Two – Misplaced**

"Sir, I am to inform you that Captain Highwind has led a small portion of the Baron army to the north, to investigate a report of a traveling party being under attack," a young Baronian guard informed Cecil the moment he opened his bedroom door.

The white-haired, paladin king just stared groggily at his guard. ". . . What?"

The guard sighed and tried again. "Kain took two dozen soldiers with him to go fight monsters in the middle of the night."

"Monsters. You said a traveling party was under attack?"

"That is what I was told, sir."

Rosa came up to the doorway as well. She somehow managed to look elegant even in her downy nightgown and with her blond hair in disarray. "What is it?" she asked, stifling a yawn, having heard none of the discussion so far.

Cecil pressed the soldier, "How many people in this traveling party? Where were they headed? What kind of monsters?"

"I don't know, sir."

"How long have they been gone?"

"Five hours, I believe."

"Did Kain say anything else?"

"No . . ." The soldier faltered and glanced behind his shoulder as though concerned another guard might overhear. "But I did hear . . . he was acting a bit strangely last night."

"Strangely in what way?" Cecil asked, not liking the feeling of unease that was growing within him. He knew he should have no reason to distrust Kain . . . that magical harp had seemed to fix his mind-control weakness . . .

The guard hesitated again, and Rosa jumped in, "Did you see or hear anything personally?"

"No, your majesty. I only heard . . . comments by those who were on watch. I . . . don't mean to spread rumors . . ."

Cecil drummed his fingers on his doorway while he thought. He clenched them into a fist once he made up his mind. "Ready the guards – a group twice the size that Kain took. Ask around and find out all the specifics you can of where the first group went. I'll go figure this out myself."

The guard saluted and ran off to do as commanded. Cecil turned and found Rosa blocking him. "I'm going with you," she said firmly.

"No, Rosa. It could be dangerous. I need you to stay here in Baron. If anything should happen to me–"

"You would stand a much better chance with me at your side to support you." She folded her arms and looked as commanding as a queen ever could.

Cecil stared at his wife for a moment, then finally cracked a rueful smile. "Alright. I won't stop you. And maybe once you're ready, you can go invite Cid along, too . . ."


	3. Over the River and Through the Woods

_I don't own FFIV. I'm sure you guessed that already. As always, I welcome all feedback, including suggestions for improvement. Especially pointing out mechanical errors or plotholes._

_I made a few slight fixes to this chapter. You might not even notice them. It was just a couple of typos, and some details I forgot to put in._

* * *

**How to Save the Environment in Two Easy Steps**

_**Step One – kill a lot of monsters.**_

_**Step Two – make the Lunarians go away.**_

_by Maelstra_

* * *

**Chapter Three – Over the River and Through the Woods**

Cecil recognized the creening before he even saw the monsters. "Isn't that . . . ?"

"The monsters that invaded Baron a couple of months ago?" Rosa finished his sentence for him. "It does sound very similar."

"So let's get on with the fight!" Cid whipped his hammer through a practice swing. "I've got better things to do than spending all day dragging your rogue captain home again."

Cecil sighed, "Cid, you shouldn't just –"

"Your majesty!" the lead soldier shouted.

At that, dozens of the brownish, foot-tall cyclopians flew out of the dense forest and surrounded them. The creatures had sharp claws, and focused their attacks on the face or breaks in the armor, where they could do the most damage. Cecil already had his sword out, and immediately leapt into a flurry of hacking and swiping at the monsters. As before, the singing creatures suddenly disintegrated after a sufficiently powerful hit. Cid started his own attack not a second behind the king, and the soldiers joined in, too, a moment later. Rosa took her place at Cecil's back, and for her own part shot down the speedy creatures with arrows as best she could. The battle continued in a frenzy for several minutes, and Rosa switched over to healing any who needed her aid. For some reason, the cyclopians seemed attracted to Rosa, and Cecil had to take a permanent position just defending his wife. The monsters fell easily, but there were just so many of them that they were nearly overwhelming.

Finally, the last of the creatures retreated back into the trees. The sound of creening grew louder just ahead.

"Onward, men!" Cecil commanded, then led his charge himself. He plowed through the underbrush, crested a hill, and then stopped in shock. His guards continued past him to go to the aid of their red-uniformed comrades who were still locked in battle with the flying creatures. But what Cecil was staring at was the ten or so white-haired people that were being especially harried by the cyclopians. Though the people very seldom made a move to strike the monsters, they did not move like they were old.

Cid grabbed Cecil by the elbow. "You coming, or do you want to watch us take all the glory?"

Cecil shook his head. "Since when are you so bloodthirsty, old man?"

"Since my daughter started pushing me to retire. What else? Yarrr!" Cid charged into battle, sending several of the densely-packed monsters flying with just one swing.

Cecil jumped into the skirmish without further delay. The creatures exploded into dust around him. But they kept coming, wailing irritatingly. He struck and swung so much that his arms started aching. But as he drew close to one of the white-haired people (who looked no older than Cecil himself, yet had eerily pale, green eyes), that man smiled at him and cast a powerful healing spell on him that erased most of his pain. Cecil wanted to demand at explanation from the man right at that moment, but another wave of monsters charged forward at the sight of the magic, taking over Cecil's attention.

Cecil had long lost sight of Rosa, but some minutes later he found himself beside a familiar, blue-armored person. "I want to hear a good explanation for all of this," he snapped in between slashing down cyclopians.

"So do I," Kain agreed curtly. "And I'm sorry this took longer to deal with than I expected."

With the help of the additional Baronian guards, they were dispatching the monsters very quickly, and by now, they were down to only about a hundred. But then, as one, all the remaining monsters started glowing red and crooning more loudly.

"Oh no, not again," Kain groaned. "Everyone cover your ears!" he yelled, trying to be heard over the screeching.

"Why-?" Cecil started to ask, but then the world turned fuzzy. Things abruptly came into focus again, accompanied by a sharp pain to the back of his head that made him stagger. "Ow!"

"Sorry about that, Cecil," Kain said. "It's the quickest way to deal with it. It takes people too long to snap out of it on their own."

"Is it really necessary to be so rough?" Cecil asked through gritted teeth as he used his own, weak healing magic on himself to dull the pain.

"Yep. I tried to warn you." Then Kain grinned mischievously. "You know, this is probably a good time for a comment about how you're so hard-headed . . ."

"Not funny, Kain. Why don't you practice hitting the monsters instead."

Kain's smile disappeared, and he turned away quickly. "Yeah . . . I'll do that . . ."

Before Cecil could comment, he was swarmed by the monsters again, attracted by his magic.

As the fight progressed, he moved away from Kain, but to his relief found Rosa again. The cyclopians tried their mind-control spell more and more frequently as their numbers dwindled, and any who fell under the spell would start attacking friend and foe alike. Cecil found that if he tried to cover his ears during their casting, more than half the time the spell did not take effect on him. And the other times, Rosa quickly dispersed the effects with her white magic.

Finally, Cecil hacked down the last squawking monster he could see, then slowly turned a full circle to survey the battlefield. Everything was becoming quiet. Rosa was using her magic to treat a deep scratch on Cid's arm. The white-haired people were happily healing all the soldiers who had sustained any sort of injuries. All the remaining soldiers stood in clumps at attention, awaiting further orders from their king. Cecil frowned and walked through the crowd, trying to find Kain.

The blue-armored dragon knight was in the far back of the group, carrying on a whispered but agitated conversation.

"Excuse me!" Cecil interrupted loudly as he drew close. "I want to know just what is going on!" Kain quickly turned to face Cecil, but Cecil's jaw dropped as he recognized who Kain had been speaking to. "FuSoYa?"

"Yes, Cecil," the aged man replied with his usual dignity. "How are you faring?"

The king could only manage to stare. "What are you doing here?"

FuSoYa set the point of his staff into the dirt. "Cecil, I know we told you that we intended to never return – but the situation has changed. We Lunarians desperately need your help. We tried to reach you at Baron, but we were waylaid in this forest."

Cecil nodded slowly, his mind struggling to take the whole situation in. "I'll be glad to offer you what assistance I can, uncle." His mind hit a snag. Cecil rounded on Kain. "Just how did you know the Lunarians were here?"

Kain frowned, then heaved a sigh of longsuffering and pointed without looking to one of the other Lunarians who had come clustering around them. "Someone woke me up in the dead of night and wouldn't let me alone until I agreed to help."

Cecil looked over at said Lunarian, and noticed with surprise that he carried a normal sword, unlike the staffs that the rest of them seemed to prefer. And from the stains on the blade, it looked like he had been using it, too. The Lunarian's clothes were typical, but his white hair was remarkably shaggy, and he had hazel-y eyes. When he noticed the king's intent gaze, he tried to smile, and said weakly, "Hello, Cecil."

Cecil stiffened. _That voice –!_

Golbez fidgeted unconsciously with the pommel of his sword. "I tried to call you for help, but apparently you couldn't hear me. So I had to ask Kain to come help us."

Kain growled, "You only told me FuSoYa was in danger."

"Well, he was in danger!" Golbez insisted. "Somehow, I didn't think you'd be willing to come if you knew that I was here as well!"

"You should've just explained why your voice was so loud, so I wouldn't think I was going crazy!"

"How is it my fault if you decide to go crazy just because I ask you for help?"

"A-hem!" FuSoYa cleared his throat so loudly it sounded painful. "Cecil, I ask that you convey us to your castle at Baron. Once we are within that safe location, I will immediately explain to you all the details of our current predicament."

Golbez glowered at his uncle, but made no comment. He turned his attention to cleaning his blade.

Cecil's eyes jumped to his brother who was mechanically wiping down his sword and not looking at anyone else. The last he had seen Golbez, Cecil had assumed would be the last time he would ever see him. It was one thing to forgive a man that he never expected to encounter again. Now Golbez was back, right before him. Cecil's chest tightened. He had no idea how he was supposed to react. The way he felt, he might've been standing in the Giant of Babel all over again.

FuSoYa cleared his throat, less violently this time. "Unless you have any profound objection, Cecil, Golbez comes, too. I don't know if you could tell, but those monsters absorb every kind of magic. Golbez is the only one of the Lunarians with any skill with a sword, and so we'd like to keep him with us for now."

Cecil quickly returned his attention to FuSoYa just as Golbez started to turn to look at him. "If you think it is wise, then . . . I will trust your judgement."


	4. In the Halls of the Baron King

_I don't own FFIV. I'm sure you guessed that already. As always, I welcome all feedback, including suggestions for improvement. Especially pointing out mechanical errors or plotholes._

_I'm sorry this one is so short, but I'm going camping, and don't have time to put the next one up yet. I'll see about doing the next two chapters next week._

_This chapter had some serious formatting issues, thanks to internet bugs. Hopefully it's okay now._

* * *

**How to Save the Environment in Two Easy Steps**

_**Step One – kill a lot of monsters.**_

_**Step Two – make the Lunarians go away.**_

_by Maelstra_

* * *

**Chapter Four – In the Halls of the Baron King**

"Our problem is straightforward, Cecil," FuSoYa declared stiffly. "However, the solution is far from simple."

"Explain, please," Cecil prompted. He had gathered all ten Lunarians – plus Golbez, Kain, Rosa, Cid, and a handful of his most trusted soldiers – into a council room within the castle of Baron. The table was completely full, and the Baronian soldiers had to stand around the walls of the room. Despite the awkwardness of such crowding, Cecil had been adamant that he wanted all involved parties present there.

FuSoYa bowed his head so deeply that his bald scalp reflected the torchlight. His unnaturally white hair and beard also shimmered strangely in the light, almost taking on purple highlights. "I will endeavor to do so as plainly as possible, although I fear that inhabitants of the Blue Planet cannot fully appreciate the seriousness of our situation." He took a deep breath and released it slowly. "It seems . . . Zemus's spirit does not rest easy, and his lingering malignancy has put our moon in a very grave situation. You know, I believe, that the lunar underground is an intricate maze of caverns, both natural and artificial. Most of the Lunarians have not left the Central Sleeping Chamber since leaving their old world, so we have long been unaware of what has been lurking in the other caverns. But due to some unsuspected curse of Zemus's – while most of us were sleeping, unaware – most of the tunnels of the underground have filled up with these terrifying, flying creatures which you have seen. We did our best to fight them back, but as I have said . . . they appear capable to absorb all spells and all magics."

"So please tell us, what is the current status of the remaining Lunarians?" Cecil asked solemnly.

FuSoYa inclined his head. "At present, we are holding the monsters at bay behind a powerful, magic shield that we have set up around one of the smaller chambers. We can't maintain this indefinitely, though – many feared we would not be able to hold out long enough to even return to the Blue Planet. We tried to send you a probe with a message, asking for immediate assistance, but the probe was waylaid by the monsters, and most likely lost."

"Now would that explain the earlier surge of those monsters, I wonder?" Cid murmured softly. Cecil took note and nodded thoughtfully.

"But just what are you asking us to do?" Kain asked rather bluntly. "Didn't you tell me earlier that only a few of the monsters followed your ship down? You can't seriously expect us to go up to the moon and kill all of them . . ."

"Oh no, Captain Highwind. That is not what we are asking at all. Given the gravity of our situation, our only hope is that your Blue Planet forces can aid us in stopping this problem at the very root. We would do so ourselves, but as you know, such a challenge plays more to your strengths than to ours."

Cecil frowned, "I'm sorry, but I still don't understand . . ."

Golbez tsked irritably and jumped in, "What he's trying to say is that these monsters seem to multiply insanely fast, so he thinks that they're actually being magically created from a single source. Of course, that means there's no possible way to kill them all unless someone can manage to find where they're coming from and stop that first."

"Why haven't the Lunarians found this 'source' yet?" Cecil asked, directing his comment mainly at his brother.

FuSoYa cleared his throat. "We have looked, Cecil – but the closer to the source we get, the thicker the droves of monsters. With Golbez being the only one of us who can effectively fight them . . . we cannot make much progress."

All the soldiers around the room – and even Cecil and his friends as well – flinched a little at the mention of Golbez's name. Several of the soldiers looked extremely concerned and murmured among themselves. Cecil's eyes darted around the room, and he was relieved to see that none of the soldiers seemed to connect the name of the fearsome wizard with the scraggly half-Lunarian sitting beside FuSoYa. Evidently Kain had not told them anything. Cecil wondered how long he could keep his soldiers in such safe ignorance.

"So you want the brute force of the Blue Planet to help you out, eh?" Cid said with a raised eyebrow. Then he laughed. "Well, you certainly came to the right people!"

"I thought so," FuSoYa said with deliberate dignity. "Now, Cecil – what is your word? Will you aid us, your father's people, in our time of need?"

That comment successfully directed all the soldiers' stares at their white-haired king; apparently word also had not yet gotten around to everybody that the paladin was actually not completely human. Of course, Cecil hadn't done anything to spread the word, either.

Cecil cleared his throat to hide his disconcertion. "Of course, Uncle FuSoYa. I and my forces will do whatever we can to save you from this terrible threat."


	5. Uncertainty in the Interim

_I don't own FFIV. I'm sure you guessed that already. As always, I welcome all feedback, including suggestions for improvement. Especially pointing out mechanical errors or plotholes._

* * *

**How to Save the Environment in Two Easy Steps**

_**Step One – kill a lot of monsters.**_

_**Step Two – make the Lunarians go away.**_

_by Maelstra_

* * *

**Chapter Five – Uncertainty in the Interim**

After Cecil found a few quiet moments on his own to reflect on the strange events that had just occurred, he realized that the Lunarians might be vastly overestimating his strength. He and his comrades had taken out Zeromus, true – but these swarms of monsters were something entirely different. Cecil decided to immediately send out messengers to all the surrounding kingdoms, asking his friends for forces to aid him in this undertaking. According to FuSoYa, the Lunarian moon would return to orbit around the Blue Planet in three days – he had until then to prepare.

That evening, as a courtesy, Cecil personally took the Lunarians on a tour around the town and castle. Golbez tagged along. Cecil made no comment on it, and Golbez said nothing himself as he dispassionately surveyed the place he had tyrannically lorded over not all that long ago.

In Cid's workshop, the old inventor proudly displayed all his latest projects. The Lunarians viewed the whole display with patient looks, like parents whose children are showing off their new, prized creations made out of mud, sticks, and rocks. Golbez seemed more impressed, but Cid hardly even noticed. He instructed his assistants to give the Lunarians the long version of how he invented his homing redwing, and then he grabbed Cecil and pulled him aside.

"What was the old man saying about Golbez?" Cid asked in a low, concerned voice.

"Ah . . ." Cecil choked on his answer. After he and his companions had returned home from their fight with Zeromus, he had sworn them to secrecy on all details related to Golbez's reawakening and ultimate fate. Cecil had no choice but to accept that Golbez was his brother . . . but the explanation surrounding Golbez was very long, and very convoluted, and very, very awkward. At the time, Cecil had been worried enough about how to repair Kain's reputation. And so . . . Cecil had permitted people to believe that when he said that the dread wizard Golbez had been defeated, that meant that Golbez was dead. Cid had not been let in on that little secret.

Until now. Cecil knew that Cid would be a lot harder to distract than his soldiers. "Actually, Cid, Golbez is still alive. He just opted to go with the Lunarians after we defeated Zeromu–"

"What?! You mean that twisted fiend is here?!"

Everybody stopped and stared at the outburst. Golbez guessed the subject of Cid's tirade and unconsciously hunched down. He took a quick step that put FuSoYa more between him and Cid. Fortunately, the movement was subtle enough that only Cecil noticed.

Cecil groaned mentally. "Cid, it's alright. FuSoYa freed his mind from Zemus's control. Please calm down."

"Calm down?!" Cid ranted, his red beard bristling. "Cecil, have you lost your mind?!"

"Ci-id. I promise, there's no problem now. He's just here temporarily. Besides, the Lunarians are keeping a close eye on him . . ." Actually, Cecil feared his last statement was false, but he was still hoping it was true.

Cid crossed his arms and glared at Cecil in a way that was certainly not appropriate to treat a king. He spoke in a low voice, not soft enough to keep all the others from hearing, "And am I supposed to welcome this monster back into Baron's walls . . . ?"

"No, I'm not asking that . . ." _What __am__ I asking?_ "Look, Cid . . . we'll discuss this later, okay?" Cecil waited only a brief moment before turning away to face the Lunarians, attempting to end this conversation before it got any pricklier. He pointedly avoided looking at his brother in the back of the group. "So . . . would you care to see Baron's training field?"

FuSoYa said he did, and so they went. To Cecil's dismay, Cid followed them out. Cecil earnestly hoped to avoid another scene over Golbez's presence (especially with a good portion of his guards being around), and so he walked fast enough that he remained at the front of the group, denying Cid the chance to get close enough to talk again. Cid finally got the hint, and departed with a snort, but it was only a temporary victory. Cecil knew his old comrade would not let this issue drop until he was thoroughly satisfied.

Kain was out training with the other dragoons, but as soon as he saw the flock of Lunarians approaching, he mumbled something and hurried off into the castle. Many of the guards noticed his departure and stared after him in confusion. Cecil sighed, aloud this time, and hurriedly ordered his soldiers to give the Lunarians a fighting demonstration. He would have to talk to Kain later; right now he was going to be too busy trying to hide Golbez's presence. _I can't keep covering up for Kain if he's going to act out so conspicuously anytime Golbez happens to be nearby._

The Lunarians liked the demonstrations of sword and spear prowess, and watched with rapt attention. Golbez let his eyes wander over all the people within the courtyard rather than seriously watching any of the bouts. By FuSoYa's request, they stayed out there for over an hour. Some of the Lunarians pulled out writing surfaces and appeared to be taking notes. Kain never did reappear.

Cecil finally led his entourage of Lunarians, and Golbez, back to the castle and made arrangements for them to be assigned rooms. Golbez tried to quietly get a word with Cecil, but the king brushed him off with a "not now" and hurried out into the hallway. As he had expected (and feared) Cid was waiting for him out there – with hammer in hand.

"Where is he?" Cid growled. "I'll make sure he doesn't cause any more trouble in my Baron!"

"Cid . . ." Cecil groaned and put a hand against the wall for support. "Look – if you'll promise to keep it secret, I'll explain everything about this . . . situation."

"A long story, huh?" Cid swung his hammer and rested it on his right shoulder. "Am I going to believe any of it?"

Cecil motioned for Cid to follow him down the hall to a more secluded spot. "Honestly, Cid . . . probably not."


	6. Stopping to Smell the Roses

_I don't own FFIV. I'm sure you guessed that already. As always, I welcome all feedback, including suggestions for improvement. Especially pointing out mechanical errors or plotholes._

* * *

**How to Save the Environment in Two Easy Steps**

_**Step One – kill a lot of monsters.**_

_**Step Two – make the Lunarians go away.**_

_by Maelstra_

* * *

**Chapter Six – Stopping to Smell the Roses**

The next morning . . .

A young, freckled guard hesitantly made his way forward. "Um, excuse me, sir . . ." The strange, white-haired people were the king's honored guests, but he still had his orders. "You can't be up here."

The long-haired man was leaning on the wall and staring down at the people walking around below, evidently deep in thought. After a delay, he quickly spun around. "Sorry – did you say something?"

"Um, sir . . . civilians aren't allowed on the battlements." The guard's hands started sweating. He noticed the stranger had a sword, and hoped he would not be inclined to use it.

The white-haired man's face went slack in confusion. "What?" He just stared at the guard a moment, then finally seemed to receive a burst of understanding. "Oh! Right, I see. I'm sorry. I'll just head back down right now . . ." He headed straight for the stairs.

The guard heaved a sigh of relief and went back to patrolling, not giving the Lunarian a second glance.

Golbez wandered slowly across the courtyard in the castle of Baron. He wandered close to every cluster of humans, curious to see what they were doing. Most gave him puzzled looks, but none reacted in terror. It was quite nice – but also very boring, since all those he found were too busy to talk to him for very long. Many also seemed anxious to move on and go about their business somewhere else, away from the openly staring, white-haired man. Golbez had nothing better to do, though, because all the Lunarians had followed FuSoYa to Mysidia, and Cecil had again put Golbez off when he had attempted to speak to him first thing that morning. Golbez sighed, hoping desperately that he would not have to continue to endure such treatment from his brother all the remainder of his stay on the Blue Planet. Golbez thought he did deserve it, no question – but he needed to warn Cecil, and he would prefer to do it while the Lunarians weren't around.

A few minutes later, Golbez wandered over to the training area. He watched the guards go through their exercises and sparring routines for a few minutes. Kain was not there, of course – Golbez had already noticed that the dragoon made quite a point of never being anywhere near him – but there were a handful of soldiers that Golbez recognized from his time as the head of the Baronian armies. He smiled faintly as he watched them display their skill. They had been very tense yesterday with the strange crowd of Lunarians watching them – now they were obviously much more relaxed and at ease. A red-haired one, whose name Golbez thought he should remember, was in especially fine form, swiftly disarming six other soldiers with lithe grace.

But nearly all of the remaining soldiers were new, and their inexperience was glaring. Golbez could not help but cringe as his a little dragon of guilt dug its claws deeply into his heart again. He knew that not all of the casualties among the Baronian guard had been his fault – Cagnazzo had been the one who brought all the monsters into the castle, after all. But enough of it was his fault. Though it had been Zemus giving the orders, Golbez had been the one to make them happen.

Suddenly, Golbez found it too painful to watch the soldiers train any longer. He left hurriedly and went out into the town outside the castle's walls.

The people in the village were much less concerned about Golbez's staring, and much more inclined to talk his ear off about whatever they were presently doing.

"My string beans haven't been growing well this year," an old man confided in Golbez. "I can't figure what it is. I keep pouring more of my new, experimental growing potion on them, but they still haven't perked up."

"You need beet juice." An older lady carrying three full baskets overheard the conversation and immediately joined in. "That's what my momma always said. Plants need beet juice to 'beat' the odds. Ha! Get it?"

"Don't be silly," a younger man scolded. He readjusted his armload of timber while he talked. "That's just superstition. Everyone knows that the only thing that really helps a garden is magic. Just ask Widow Farrell – you need to Cure your plants to help them grow!"

"I heard that Bio is good to cast on plants . . ."

"No, that's only for weeds!"

Golbez found himself surrounded by a whole group of people who seemed content to just hear themselves talk. He could not have gotten a word in if he tried. And strangely . . . he didn't care. His face broke into a wide grin as he let himself be wrapped up in their useless conversation.

Eventually, the conversation tapered off, and all but three of the group took the opportunity to break away and get back to whatever they were supposed to be doing. The old man glanced around him, then lowered his voice. "You know, I heard a bunch of strange people arrived at the castle yesterday. Apparently they don't talk very much, and every one of them has white hair." He looked up at Golbez as if just noticing he was there. "Aah! You're one of them, aren't you?"

"Uh . . . sort of . . . yes." Golbez put his hands up defensively.

The old man quickly apologized. "I'm sorry, fella. I didn't mean anything by it, really . . . It's just that I heard . . ." He trailed off.

"Heard what?" The beet lady had stuck around and clearly did not want to be left out of anything.

"I heard that they've fled their home and come to Baron, because . . . they are haunted by the ghost of Golbez!"

"No!" the younger woman gasped, dropping her bag of flour.

"Zemus," Golbez softly corrected.

"What's that?" the old man perked up.

"They're haunted by the ghost of Zemus," Golbez said more loudly, noticing that several more than just the three were now listening to him.

"What about Golbez then?" the beet lady asked.

"Uh, I . . . I think he's gone." Golbez figured the last thing he should do was tell them who he was.

"Can't be." Another man joined the conversation. "I heard my son tell me that he heard from his friend that he heard from his cousin that Golbez is here. In Baron. Perhaps plotting against us all, right at this very second!"

All the people gasped, and several shrieked. Golbez bit down hard on his lip. He was certain that Cecil was not going to like these rumors circulating, and he really didn't want to make things any harder for his brother. But he really had no clue how to fix this mess. He decided he had better try anyway, though. Too bad it was already too late to convince the people that 'he' wasn't here. "Okay, okay, so Golbez did come back with the Lunarians. The thing is, um . . . the Lunarians zapped him with their magic, so now he's totally harmless. Nothing to worry about. At all. Okay?"

The people were not terribly convinced. "If there's nothing to worry about, why did those white-haired Lu-loonians come running here for help?" the old man asked.

"Because it's the ghost of Zemus – who's attacking them, that is. He's a . . . scary demon that created Golbez." _Sort of. Vaguely. _

"Then why haven't the Loonians just zapped him with their special magic, too?"

Golbez found it a cruel irony that he did not know how to get people to believe him without throwing around fireballs and roaring at them. "Uh . . . He . . . eats magic. Yeah. You see, and since they can't use their magic on him, they've come to Cecil for help because he's such an amazing swordsman and paladin and everything . . ."

The old man nodded sagely. "I understand. We all need to run home and prepare to defend our homes against the vile, salivating ghosts of Golbez and Zemus!"

"For the honor of Baron!" "To arms!"

"No, that's not what I said!" Golbez moaned. The people paid him no heed and scattered, looking for farming implements to use as weapons. Golbez watched them helplessly, then shook his head. "Oh, never mind." He slowly started scuffling back to the castle.

* * *

_So I did manage to post two chapters this week. Next week should be a normal, single chapter update. So, stay tuned. :)_


	7. I'm a Little Teapot

_I don't own FFIV. I'm sure you guessed that already. As always, I welcome all feedback, including suggestions for improvement. Especially pointing out mechanical errors or plotholes. _

_And I just want to comment that I like to name my chapters before I write them. It helps inspire the chapters. :)_

* * *

**How to Save the Environment in Two Easy Steps**

_**Step One – kill a lot of monsters.**_

_**Step Two – make the Lunarians go away.**_

_by Maelstra_

_

* * *

_

**Chapter Seven – I'm a Little Teapot**

"Where have you been? Weren't you supposed to be on duty last night?"

Kain looked miffed. "I was on duty."

"No one else saw you."

"I was on the roof."

"Why?" Cecil demanded in some exasperation. His patience was thinning. Golbez had wanted to talk to him that morning, but Cecil had put him off again, wanting to work things out with Kain first. However, it had taken him until past noon to track down his captain of the dragoons. "Kain, you know that most of the Baronian guards are glad to have you back, but this sort of behavior isn't making a very good impression–!"

"I know! I can't help it, though! Anytime I'm too close to him . . . it's like I can feel him breathing down my neck." Kain glanced down the hallway, but it still appeared to be empty. "I keep expecting him any second to order me to go and murder everyone in Baron . . ."

"I thought you were over that," Cecil said in sincere concern. "I thought you were supposed to be immune to any mind control now . . ."

"I know I'm supposed to be. It's just . . ." Kain ran a hand through his tangled hair. "It's different with him here now. The proximity . . . only brings up a lot of bad memories."

"Kain . . ." Cecil sighed loudly. "You're just going to have to get over it. The Lunarians want him here for now, and so I'll respect that." He drummed the tips of his fingers against his sleeve. "On the other hand, if you get any hint that Golbez isn't trustworthy, I want to know it right away."

"Of course, your majesty. Whatever you wish." His tone went flat.

"Don't go all formal on me, Kain!" Cecil said. "Stop trying to hide what you mean behind empty words. Answer me plainly – will you ignore Golbez's presence and go about your assigned duties as ordered?"

The dragoon sighed. "Yes, sir."

_Still formal_. But Cecil decided to let the issue drop this time. "Alright. I'll trust your word and let you off the hook about last night. But please – no more bolting to the opposite end of the castle every time Golbez walks by. That, if nothing else, will make people start wondering if there's something wrong with you. Okay, Kain?"

"Okay, Cecil." Kain's shoulders slumped and his gaze focused on the floor.

Cecil read the signs of dark circles forming under Kain's eyes. "Get some sleep, Kain. Tonight I'm holding another council to plan our course of action. I want you to be there."

Kain nodded then headed down the hall in the proper direction for reaching his quarters.

Cecil sighed to himself and mentally patted himself on the back. _One problem taken care of. Next is Golbez . . . I wonder if he could be persuaded to stay on the opposite side of the castle from Kain?_ He started walking back to the throne room.

One of the castle's guards met him halfway. Cecil struggled to bring this dark-haired man's name to mind. When he imagined away the rugged scar that covered most of the left cheek and forehead, a name finally popped up: Tael. Cecil asked, "Do you have something to report?"

Tael nodded emotionlessly. All the survivors of Cagnazzo's occupation still had a hint of coldness to their manners now, a strange stiffness and unwillingness to let their feelings show. Kain was no exception, either. "Your majesty, the envoy has returned from Eblan. Edge waits to speak with you."

Cecil raised his eyebrows. "That fast? I suppose that means that Edge came by himself."

"I do not know, sir."

Cecil waited, but Tael volunteered no more information, so Cecil waved him away and just went directly to the throne room.

Edge was indeed waiting for him. The young, ninja king wore his favored, dark clothes, but appeared to have recently rebleached his hair. As Cecil entered, Edge was stomping around in agitated circles, but the he noticed the other king, Edge stopped and darted across the room. "Cecil! What's going on? Why is Golbez back?!"

_Ugh – is that the only thing my guards are telling people when they arrive? _"Edge, please contain yourself. It's a little more complicated than just that . . ." Cecil walked over to his throne and sat down, already feeling weary in anticipation of explaining things once again.

"So, is Golbez here?"

"Yes."

"In Baron?"

"Yes."

After a short pause, Edge asked, "Do you need me to help fight him?"

"No!" Cecil answered in exasperation, then immediately tried to check himself on his outburst. "You were there in Babel, and on the lunar moon, too. You know what the situation with Golbez is. The Lunarians have a new problem." Cecil gave the explanation to said problem in as few words as possible. ". . . So, I was hoping you would bring some of the forces of Eblan with you."

"Oh, I did – don't worry. Not that I think we'll have much call for them." Edge laughed. "What with me around and all . . ."

"Right." Cecil could not help but roll his eyes. He then cleared his throat and said stiffly, "Anyway, thank you for responding to the request of Baron in our time of need, we are deeply honored and indebted to you, we will provide accommodations for yourself and all your attendants, blah blah blah and all that traditional stuff I'm required to say to make this alliance formal and binding."

Edge grinned widely. "And I accept your proffered accommodations with profound gratitude of heart, in the name of the sovereign nation of Eblan, et cetera, et cetera, and I sure am glad that you know how to handle these ceremonies right, Cecil. I don't think I could handle any more formality."

"I know." Cecil shook his head. "Doesn't your chancellor scold you for being lax?"

Edge's eyes glinted. "Doesn't yours?"

"Touché." Cecil's eyes were drawn to the door opening on the opposite side of the room. A train of half a dozen Lunarians slowly filed in.

Edge spun around to face them. "Hey, FuSoYa! What's new, old guy?"

FuSoYa gave a curt nod of recognition. "Hello, Edge. I am pleased to see you well." He then directly his full attention to the other king. "Cecil, if I may, I would like a word with you." The old sage gave Edge a piercing look, considering him, then to Cecil added, "In private."

Cecil nodded politely. "Of course, uncle."

Edge looked insulted, but he sucked it up quickly. "Well, I'll just go see to the placement of my forces, then. By you leave, Cecil." He then walked out with his nose so high in the air that Cecil thought it a wonder that he didn't trip as he walked down the stairs just outside the main door.

FuSoYa glanced over the few guards stationed around the walls of the room, but decided they weren't cause for concern. "Cecil – you are a sovereign of this planet, and as such, have dominion over the lands surrounding your kingdom – correct?" he asked with unusual energy.

"Ye-es. Why? Is something the matter?" The king wondered instantly if more of the monsters had been spotted.

"We have discovered no additional problems, Cecil," FuSoYa reassured quickly. "The matter is simply . . . as we have no means to prepare ourselves for the fight once the moon returns to orbit, we would like permission from you, as the monarch of this region, to conduct research."

"Well, certainly." Cecil surveyed the other pale, Lunarian faces, and wondered why they felt obligated to ask him. "Would you like any of our people to assist you?"

"Oh no, Cecil, that won't be necessary. We have brought with us sufficient means to conduct our research on our own."

"Alright then." The king nodded perfunctorily. "You'll let me know if you find anything out, won't you?"

FuSoYa looked a bit surprised, then smiled in a happy way. "Of course, Cecil. I would be pleased to inform you of all our findings."

"Good. In that case you . . ." The door to the throne room opened, and one of the newer guards whose name Cecil did not yet know poked his head in.

The guard looked nervous. "Excuse me, your majesty – King Giott of the underground kingdoms has just arrived and demands to speak with you immediately . . ."

Cecil groaned aloud. _What __are__ my soldiers telling everybody?_ "Okay, okay . . . send him in . . ."


	8. Ill Grows Wherever an Ill Wind Blows

_I don't own FFIV. I'm sure you guessed that already. As always, I welcome all feedback, including suggestions for improvement. Especially pointing out mechanical errors or plotholes. _

_Alright! Updated (more or less) on-schedule. The later chapters are a bit sloppier, so they're going to need more work before posting. I hope that won't delay updates, but . . . I'm just warning you in advance. But anyway, enjoy!_

**

* * *

**

**How to Save the Environment in Two Easy Steps**

**_Step One – kill a lot of monsters._**

_**Step Two – make the Lunarians go away.**_

_by Maelstra_

* * *

**Chapter Eight – Ill Grows Wherever an Ill Wind Blows**

The next day . . .

Golbez got up early to wander through the lower levels of the castle, looking for Cecil. He wore a flowing, pastel robe like the other Lunarians, and so people afforded him the same token respect as they showed FuSoYa and the others. However, Golbez was also a bit disturbed by the fact that none of said Lunarians were anywhere around. The hallways were lined with guards, though; Golbez hoped this was not due to him, and was rather due to the presence of the many envoys from other kingdoms. Three different groups had arrived yesterday, by Golbez's count, and all of them seemed determined to monopolize Cecil's time.

The last time he had checked the throne room, it had been empty, but lacking other ideas, Golbez decided to try it again. He quietly eased open a side door and let himself inside.

Cecil was indeed there, standing in front of his throne. The were many others present – a fourth group? – but all were rather ragtag looking, and none seemed to be presently conversing with the king. Golbez decided he had to take his chance. He hurried across the room, and gently nudged his brother's elbow to get his attention. "Cecil, please, I need to have a word with you. It's about the Lunarians . . ."

Cecil was startled by the interruption and stepped back. "G- . . . not now, please. I'm in the middle of a meeting."

Golbez frowned, not seeing any indications of how this particular gathering counted as a meeting. All the other people were quietly conversing amongst themselves. Regardless, he thought that his message was too vital to put off for any longer. "Cecil, it's very important. Just whatever you do, don't let FuSoYa and the others start experimenting on or extracting anything from the planet, no matter what they say. Okay?"

Now Cecil frowned, puzzled. "They haven't. Why would they, when they have the threat of the monsters to contend with?"

This answer surprised Golbez. "Really? They haven't . . ." _Maybe they __are__ behaving themselves. But then again, what of their absence?_ "Cecil, then where are they right now? Do you know what they're doing?"

"Nothing serious." Cecil started to seem a bit annoyed with Golbez's continuance of this conversation. "FuSoYa said they were just doing some research. Now will you please let me tend to the business of my kingdom?"

Golbez slapped a hand to his forehead. "Too late. But hopefully it's not too bad yet." He grabbed Cecil's arm anxiously, despite the king's frown. "Cecil – the next time you see them, tell them to stop it. Whatever they say they're doing, they cannot be permitted to continue."

"Gol– you . . ." Cecil hissed in irritation and pushed his brother back. "Why are you doing this? What is your problem?!"

"It's not me, it's them," Golbez protested. "They have no respect for nature or the natural balance of things. This 'research' they're conducting will sicken the entire region around where it's taking place. I was trying to warn you from the start, because if you leave them to their own devices, they'll destroy this planet just like they destroyed their own!"

Cecil stared, and his mouth hung slightly open. He took several deliberate paces backward to distance himself from Golbez. Then he shook his head in denial. "They are an ancient and extremely advanced race. They have mastered both magic and many technologies that we cannot even imagine. I am certain that they would never do anything to endanger our Blue Planet."

"Cecil, you know hardly anything about them –!"

"Leave now. Please." Cecil's expression turned rock hard. "I don't want to hear any more accusations against my uncle and his people unless you have actual proof to back it up. And do you currently have any proof that they are doing what you claim they are?"

"All you have to do is go look and –"

"I'll take that as a 'no,' then." Cecil crossed his arms.

"Um, Cecil . . . ? If this is a bad time . . . we could come back later . . ." one of the men present in the room hesitantly addressed the king, while eyeing Golbez nervously.

"No, Edward. I'm sorry about this interruption . . ." Cecil assured the blond man, a bit embarrassed, then turned to Golbez again. "I am in the middle of important business. Please do not interrupt me further!" Cecil snapped.

Golbez backed up and hunched down automatically, even though he was slightly taller than the half-Lunarian king. "I'm sorry, Cecil. I didn't mean – I just – will you please just ask FuSoYa about what they've been up to?"

"Fine. Now, out! And don't interrupt my meetings again unless I summon you."

"Okay, okay! I'm sorry, Cecil!" Golbez scurried away back toward the door he had entered from. He slid through, closed it quickly, then all but collapsed against the wall outside.

His heart was pounding. _Why? Why am I reacting like this? Cecil was a little bit annoyed with me, yes, but . . ._ Then an image of Zemus flashed through his mind, and Golbez shivered. _I'm too used to cowering and obeying. Do I have any backbone at all?_

Golbez waited several minutes for his heart-rate and breathing to go down to normal. He seriously considered going back into the throne room one more time – since Cecil obviously hadn't taken him seriously – but he couldn't quite talk himself into it. _I want to try to help Cecil . . . but all I've done is make him angry with me. I don't want that. But yet, I can't leave him ignorant of what the Lunarians are actually doing . . ._

He put his hand back on the handle, and stood there, and finally pulled his hand back again. "No . . . later, maybe?" Golbez glanced up and down the hall out of paranoia, and noted two guards who seemed to be ignoring him, more intent on their distant end of the hallway.

With vague intentions of trying to find the Lunarians' research himself, and thus obtain the physical proof Cecil wanted, Golbez set out into the village of Baron.

Being out in the sunlight soothed Golbez's nerves, slightly . . . at least, until he imagined a toxic mist rising up from the Lunarians' experiment, choking the air and discoloring the sky. He shuddered involuntarily. _No. There will be no more taints of the Lunarian legacy on this world. I won't allow it!_ His face hardened in determination.

"Something the matter, Loonian?"

Golbez almost jumped. He had been so preoccupied he had not even noticed the handful of people around, roaming about the village. They seemed unconcerned, probably used to his presence by now since he had spent so long out there just the day before. The human addressing him was an older man, who wore robes that gave him the look of a retired magic caster. Golbez brushed up a quick response, "Ah, no. I was just thinking . . . I hope that no harm comes to Baron because of Cecil's generosity in helping the Lunarians defeat the ghost of Zemus." Since they had seemed to misunderstand him yesterday, Golbez decided to try again to set the Baronians right on the details.

The man totally ignored the part about Zemus. "Aye, that Cecil . . . honorable to a fault." He shook his head.

"He's a good king. Don't you speak disrespectfully of him," the beet lady from yesterday declared as she walked by them without even slowing down.

"What do you mean . . . about Cecil?" Golbez asked the man.

"Oh, you know, don't you? Oh wait – I guess you wouldn't. Off-world and all . . ." The man sniffed. "Anyway . . . you see, Cecil just wouldn't do something he didn't feel was right – even in the face of orders from the king. And after one mission to acquire an elemental crystal for his majesty, and Cecil wouldn't take it anymore. He walked _right up _to King Baron, and _to his face_ said that he wouldn't take any more such orders. Can you believe it? Really!"

"But that was so brave of him, Lawrence!" a dark-haired, plain-faced young lady protested. "He refused to hurt innocents, even under the threat of charges of treason!"

"But he argued with the king! The king who raised him!"

Golbez frowned. He was pretty fuzzy on a lot of details of Cecil's history . . . but he knew the time period they were referring to very well. "But hadn't the king been replaced by a fake – a monster?"

The old man and several others gasped. "How – how can you even suggest such a thing! His majesty!"

This took Golbez by surprise. _But . . . he was! I __know__ he was. Cagnazzo was in place almost five years before he started collecting the crystals. Cecil . . . didn't he tell the Baronians the truth?_ Golbez was made very nervous by the horror and rage glinting in all the eyes around him. He knew when to back down. "Um . . . Of course, I don't know every detail about what happened. Perhaps you are more knowledgeable than I am?" He grinned sheepishly, trying to look non-threatening. _Knowledgeable on the local rainfall perhaps, but __not__ on the affairs of Zemus!_ He kept his last thought to himself.

The old man cooled down – slightly. "Of course I am! Blasted foreigners think they know everything . . ."

"So, do you think Cecil is a good king?" Golbez asked quickly, hoping to distract him. But he had another motive as well: simple curiosity to learn more about his younger brother.

"Well . . ." The man jumped on the bait. "I suppose he's alright. No sense of tradition, but I'll admit honor is a good thing to have on hand."

"He doesn't seem interested in expanding Baron's territory," another old man added, suddenly joining in. Golbez recognized him as one of the people he'd talked to just the day before. The man scratched his balding head thoughtfully. "Of course, not being at war with our neighbors isn't all that bad, either. Occasional monster attacks are the worst our soldiers have had to deal with lately."

"My only real complaint is he's inexperienced at ruling," the old mage said with a sniff.

The young lady shook her head vehemently. "Porter, he was commander of the Redwings for two years. All the soldiers, old or new, are absolutely loyal to him! He has Baron's best interests at heart, and would do anything to protect us. I think that counts a lot more than years of experience ruling."

The villagers' voices were growing louder, and as such, the curiosity of bystanders was proportionally increasing. The beet lady poked her head around a building to listen, and others slowly started moving closer as well. Several people responded to the young lady's last argument, and the whole discussion degenerated into three separate lines of dialogue. Golbez tried to follow all three, but quickly gave up. The dynamics of this gathering were starting to make him feel uncomfortable, and he was not quite sure why. _I hope I'm not precipitating a riot._ He tried to reenter and calm down the conversation closest to him, which presently involved the young woman, the old mage, a man with sticky brown hair, and the dark-haired beet woman. "I see, yes, that's very nice. I'm glad to learn so much about Cecil. Thank you. Now, um . . . how often does it rain in Baron?" Once he had gotten the humans' attention, he threw the last question out as a distraction.

The beet woman stared at him. "You mean, you think Cecil is behind the lack of rain lately?"

Golbez stared back. _What . . . ?_ ". . . No-o. I was merely curious. I like rainstorms, but the Lunarian's moon never has any such weather activity." _How did she come up with an idea like that?_ "So . . . you say it hasn't rained in Baron for a while?"

"Yeah, that's right . . ."

"Hey, you, stand aside! What's the commotion about?" A pair of muscular, young men pushed their way through the two dozen people standing about. Though they wore the clothes of ordinary villagers, their bearing gave them away as soldiers.

"I-it's nothing," Golbez hurriedly tried to assure the off-duty guards. "I was just asking them about Cecil, and they got a little excited . . ."

"He said the king was replaced by a monster!" the old man told the guards, his voice wavering. "His poor majesty . . ."

"I didn't mean anything by it! It was just a misunderstanding!" Golbez mentally begged the guards to believe him. But even if they did, Cecil was likely to be furious when he heard about this incident.

The blond guard eyed Golbez intently, obviously thinking hard. Very slowly, he asked, "Tell me, one more time, what were you doing here?"

Golbez breathed to steady himself, then answered equally slowly. "I was casually conversing with these people about Cecil. That is all."

The man nodded and drew his sword. "I thought I recognized your voice, Golbez."

Golbez jumped back, finally recognizing the soldier as well. Or, more specifically, recognizing the distinct way the man growled as he said his name. Jared Farrell. Not good at all. And the brunet guard beside Jared immediately drew his blade and charged forward.

Reflexively, Golbez drew his own sword and scurried backwards. All the other people shrank back in fear from him – but only for a moment. Golbez watched as many got a glint in their eyes that said they didn't fear him as he appeared now, human and armorless. Then he had to immediately duck as one of the villagers nearly hit him in the head with the shaft of a shovel. Golbez straightened and raised his sword to strike.

_Brilliant idea_, his own mental voice critiqued. _So, what are you going to do? Cut the man down? Cecil will love that._ Golbez froze. He shifted his stance to try to use his sword more as a shield. It worked to deflect another blow from the shovel, but at the same time, someone hurled a bushel of potatoes at his back. The basket hit hard and exploded, sending its contents rolling everywhere. Golbez staggered, and just barely managed to avoid the crossbow bolt that the plain-faced woman shot at him.

_A sword is a lousy shield. And it's slowing me down, since I don't dare use it._ Golbez resheathed his weapon, then turned and ran before the second guard could connect his sword with Golbez's chest.

He sprinted around the nearest building, but by so doing only ran into Jared and more irate-looking Baronians. Golbez backed up quickly. Baron was only so big. Running away was not a viable option. Golbez felt cornered and started to panic. He began chanting the initial words to cast a weak lightning spell. A yellow glow appeared around his hands, an obvious sign of a spell being underway. He paused in his spell and held up his hands so the humans could see what he was doing. "Stay back! I don't want to hurt you!"

The humans responded by hurling various projectiles at him, hoping to break his concentration before he could complete the spell. Golbez dodged the flying bricks and resumed chanting.

_No. Cecil won't like this either._ Golbez's breathing quickened as he paused his spell-casting. _Even if it __is__ in self-defense, Cecil will never forgive me for harming any one of his people._ Golbez sighed in resignation, and let his spell evaporate, unfinished.

Then a crossbow bolt hit him in the side. The pain made Golbez double over. He awkwardly pulled the arrow out, then clamped his left hand over the wound. When he looked up again, he saw Jared and his mob surrounding him, and Jared already had his sword raised for a strike. Golbez bit his lip, then started mumbling under his breath. He slowly sank down to a sitting position on the cobblestone ground.

"You won't trick us again, you despicable fiend!" Jared ran the last few feet, then swung his sword downward with all his strength. The blade clanged against the stone ground as it encountered no resistance whatsoever.

Jared stared at the now-empty spot of ground, cursed, then immediately started barking orders. "He must still be around here. Everyone fan out and search!"


	9. I Meant to Tell You Eventually

_I don't own FFIV. I'm sure you guessed that already. As always, I welcome all feedback, including suggestions for improvement. Especially pointing out mechanical errors or plotholes. _

_So, we're continuing on. I've been working a lot on the next few chapters, and I'm more optimistic that I'll be able to continue with the once a week updates. :) I'm very happy about that. I just thought I'd let you all know, too._

* * *

**How to Save the Environment in Two Easy Steps**

_**Step One – kill a lot of monsters.**_

_**Step Two – make the Lunarians go away.**_

_by Maelstra_

* * *

**Chapter Nine – I Meant to Tell You Eventually**

Cecil groaned. "I thought the Lunarians were keeping an eye on him . . ."

"You mean, you knew he was here?!" Captain Ferrell exclaimed in shock.

Cecil decided to ignore Jared's comment for the moment. He addressed one of the on-duty guards who had come running over when the mob of angry Baronians had stormed into the castle courtyard. "Ashton, have you seen Kain? I want him here, immediately."

The red-haired guard nodded slightly, then hurried off.

Now Cecil had no choice but to deal with the mob. Nearly the entire population of the village had joined in, with the more level-headed people hanging near the back. He looked for Cid, hoping for some assistance with crowd control, but could not find him among the group. _Perhaps just as well . . ._ He swallowed and cleared his throat. "Please settle down! I want all of you to return to your homes, for now . . . and be on lookout. That is all. Please do not take any action unless you are personally threatened."

The people hesitated to leave, and another guard in casual dress – Braden – furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, so Cecil added, "Jared, Braden, escort the people back to their homes. Once the situation seems secure, report back directly to me."

The direct order seemed to do the trick, and the mob slowly dispersed back through the main gate. Cecil turned around and saw more of the armored Baronian guards had appeared in the meanwhile. "Go back to your posts!" he snapped a bit harsher than he really meant. "And where's Kain?!"

"What?! I'm here!"

Cecil started when he noticed that Kain had somehow snuck up right beside him without him noticing. "Oh! Good, then." Cecil waved off the guards who hesitated, then said to Kain in a low tone. "Golbez went out to the village and caused a huge uproar."

Kain rolled his eyes. "What's the damage?"

"Hard to say. The stories didn't mesh. But more importantly, Golbez has disappeared."

"Huh." Kain folded his arms. "Well, he probably didn't go far."

"Do you know where he is, Kain?" Cecil asked, intensely calm.

"What!" Kain jumped back, horrified. "You think I'd help him escape . . ."

"No, Kain! But you know him better than anyone else. Can you guess where he'd go?"

The tension slowly drained from Kain. He studied Cecil's face for a heartbeat, then turned to faced the castle. After a moment, he turned back and told Cecil, "He went back to his room."

The king blinked. "Are you sure?"

"Fairly."

"How did you come up with that?"

Kain made a face and looked away as though embarrassed. At last, he admitted, "I asked him."

Cecil shook his head. "Alright, then. Follow me."

They hurried through the corridors, and up several flights of stairs. Kain was content to stay a couple paces behind Cecil. Once they reached the floor that contained all the Lunarians' rooms, Cecil slowed his jog down to a walk. Kain copied him without comment.

Golbez's door was closed. Cecil pounded on it loudly, but got no response. He frowned, cast a glance in Kain's direction, then knocked again. At the same time, he yelled, "Open up, in the name of the king!"

"Cecil?" a voice drifted out from behind the door. "Just a minute . . ." The two men could hear a loud grating sound from within the room, like something scraping across the stone floor. The noise ceased, then a moment later the door swung open inward.

Cecil pushed the door open farther. "Golbez, what happened?"

Golbez shrugged helplessly, then walked over and sat on his bed, which was still in the center of the room instead of being against the far wall, where it belonged. "I'm so sorry, Cecil! I don't know why they . . . I didn't mean to . . ." He shook his head in frustration and tried to gather his thoughts. "Jared recognized me – I guess he knew my voice. But I didn't hurt anyone."

Cecil closed his eyes and sighed. "I suppose it was inevitable," he murmured to himself. When he opened his eyes again, he looked across the room, and noticed on the table an empty potion bottle and a small arrow. He glanced back at Golbez, and noticed a large, damp spot on his tunic. It was dark like water. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine . . . I'm really sorry, Cecil . . ."

"I think we've already established that you're sorry, Golbez," Kain interrupted briskly. "I think Cecil wants to know more of what actually happened."

Again, Golbez shrugged. "I really . . . I mean, I guess the people were a little tense before Jared showed up, but I'm not sure why. But then, all he had to do was say my name, and then everyone flipped out."

"It didn't help things at all the FuSoYa already told everyone you were here." Cecil covered his face with his hands. He had hoped to avoid this mess. He had dodged little explanations here and there, thinking that if he was careful, he would not have to face the issues of Golbez returning to Baron. _Now everything's falling apart, and I'm back to the original problem: I don't know how to explain the truth about Golbez without everyone thinking I'm out of my mind . . . or worse, somehow under Golbez's control – like Kain was._ "Why did he do that, anyway? Didn't you explain to him why you couldn't safely return to the Blue Planet?"

"I tried, of course! But Cecil, Lunarians just don't think like humans do. I've found they . . . take for granted certain things that we would find absurd. Like the whole mind control thing – Lunarians are much more susceptible to it than humans, and so incidents of it are commonplace. They believed me immediately when I told them that Zemus tricked me into being his pawn, and used me to do terrible things . . . things that I would have never considered doing on my own. They didn't even question my story." Golbez gestured wildly as he spoke. "So, it_ doesn't make any sense to them_ that the Blue Planet's people would still hold a grudge against me for things I did while under Zemus's control."

Cecil tried to wrap his mind around this idea. "Huh. Well, I guess it doesn't matter anymore at this point. By now, everyone knows you're here, and we'll just have to deal with it."

"Sorry." Golbez slouched, hanging his head down. "I guess I could go stay in the Lunarian ship until the moon returns."

"No good," Kain dissented with a shake of his head. "If there's a monster in your house, you'd only be more frightened if you can't see where it is. He has to stay in Baron, or else the people will panic more."

"I'm not a monster." Golbez looked up and gave Kain a hint of a glare.

Kain rolled his eyes. "Whatever. You know what I meant."

"Okay, fine," Cecil interrupted, cutting off potential argument. "So Kain, what do you propose?"

"Easiest solution: just stick him in a cell in the dungeon."

"No!"

Cecil was startled by Golbez's outburst, and stared at him, confused.

"Please Cecil . . . anything but that," Golbez begged, almost frantically.

"Why? What's so wrong with the dungeon?" Cecil tried to keep his tone neutral.

"I . . . since Zemus, I can't handle being confined in small spaces, all by myself. I start going kind of crazy . . ."

"Claustrophobia?" Kain suggested with a raised eyebrow.

Golbez thought a moment. "I guess you could call it that . . ."

Kain snorted. "So, how do you handle the Lunarian caves? Some of those were pretty close quarters, as I recall . . ."

"That's not the same thing . . ."

"Will you both be quiet and let me think!" Cecil said, again more forcefully than he meant to – but at least he got the silence he wanted. _What's with me? I'm getting more irritable everyday. I wonder why? Oh yeah, let me count the reasons,_ he thought sarcastically.

After indulging in a moment of self-pity, he quickly assessed his current situation. He could not think of a complete solution, but decided he could not afford to spend any more time looking for one at present. "Okay, listen to me. Golbez – you are confined to this room. At least, as much as you can handle being confined. Kain – I'm assigning you to be Golbez's personal bodyguard. Try to keep him out of trouble, but if you run into someone, it's your job to explain the situation." Cecil kept talking right over Kain's automatic protest. "And me – I'm going to go downstairs and try to get everyone to understand enough of Golbez's circumstances so they'll calm down. And so, you'll just have to suck it up, Kain, because I don't have time to argue about this. Understood?"

Kain glared. "Yes - your - majesty," he answered in a barely civil tone.

"Good." Cecil stepped back out of the doorway and turned to leave, but then suddenly stopped. "Wait – Golbez, do you know where the Lunarians are?"

"I think they're still in the forest somewhere, performing their 'experiments' that I told you about."

"Forget the 'experiments' for now. Can you . . . talk to them somehow, and tell them to come back?"

"Only FuSoYa. And he doesn't like me to contact him, unless it's an emergency . . ." Golbez's expression changed to wry. "But I guess this would count. Just a minute." He closed his eyes and slowed his breathing. After a minute, he made a face, then opened his eyes again. "FuSoYa says I still need a lot of work on my control. But – he said they'll come right back."

"Thank you." Cecil left the room at a jog before Golbez could give a reply.

"Just lovely." Kain pulled his helmet off and tossed it into the hallway, where it landed with a clang. "Try not to go crazy or anything, okay?" he called over his shoulder as he pulled the door shut as he stepped out into the hall.

"I'll do my best," Golbez told the wooden door. After several minutes of contemplation, he stood up and started maneuvering the bed up against the door once more.


	10. Just Fruity

_I don't own FFIV. I'm sure you guessed that already. As always, I welcome all feedback, including suggestions for improvement. Especially pointing out mechanical errors or plotholes._

_I rewrote this chapter completely, but it's still too fresh for me to figure out if I fixed all its problems or not. If I catch stuff later, I'll still fix it. But for now, I need to go to bed . . ._

* * *

**How to Save the Environment in Two Easy Steps**

_**Step One – kill a lot of monsters.**_

_**Step Two – make the Lunarians go away.**_

_by Maelstra_

* * *

**Chapter Ten – Just Fruity**

_(Kain?)_

Kain shivered involuntarily at the contact. _Humans weren't meant to have telepathy_, he grumbled to himself. Then, he directed an answer at Golbez. _(Is this important?)_

_(Yes.)_

_(Alright . . . what is it?)_

_(I'm hungry.)_ Golbez sounded childishly plaintive even through the delicate touch of the mental communication.

Kain ran his left hand through his tangled hair and sighed. _(Cecil assigned me to be your guard, not your nursemaid. So magic yourself up some food. Turn that table of yours into fruit or something. Okay?)_

_(But Kain, I don't know how to do that! All I know are many, varied ways to blow things up!)_

Kain grunted, "That's probably true." After a moment's deep consideration, he thought back at Golbez, _(Open the door.)_

Golbez did not hesitate. Kain heard the bed scraping across the floor, probably starting to leave gouges even in the hard stone, and then the door swung open. The half-lunarian poked his head out and looked to Kain, raising an eyebrow in a question. Somehow, for a moment, Golbez seemed to look exactly like Cecil. Kain shook his head, trying to clear the illusion. This had happened once before, in the tower of Zot, and had freaked him out for days, in spite of the mind control he was under. Learning that Cecil and Golbez were brothers had actually been quite a relief. "Alright, Golbez, so what do you expect me to do? Cecil ordered me to stand guard here, and I'm not about to disobey his orders."

"He did say I could be allowed out of the room if I needed to," Golbez said, folding his arms.

"I think that was just referring to your claustrophobia."

"It's not claustrophobia!" Golbez snapped. Then he sighed, and leaned against the wall. "Look, Kain – this shouldn't be that big of a deal. I know the layout of this castle. I'll just walk downstairs, grab something out of the kitchen, and come right back."

"And what if you run into other people on the way?" Kain asked archly.

"I'll just ignore them. Unless I happen to see Jared again, I don't expect there to be any problems. And if there are, I can always use magic to warp back up here."

Kain made a sour face. "Uh-huh. And just what do you expect me to do in the meantime? Just hang around here and wait for you to come back?"

Golbez shrugged. "If you like. Or you can just come with me. I don't care."

"You don't care." Kain clenched his fists and shook his head. "Golbez, go back in your room."

"What? Why?"

"Before you can cause any more trouble." Kain set his face authoritatively. "Go."

"I'm not going to cause any trouble! It'll only take a minute."

"I say no." Kain yanked his lance from its sheath on his back. "Cecil said to, so you're staying here. Besides, what kind of evil overlord can't take a little physical discomfort?"

"I'm not an evil overlord!"

"I'm not going to sacrifice my reputation for you!" Kain's temper finally spilled over.

"I don't want you to sacrifice your reputation! Just get out of my way!"

"Make me." Kain shoved Golbez hard with his right shoulder, pushing him back into the room, and nearly knocking him over. In the time it took Golbez to regain his balance, Kain pulled the door closed.

Of course, he had forgotten the door couldn't lock from the outside, so it was a pointless gesture. Golbez immediately yanked the door open again. "What is your problem?! What have I done to deserve being treated like a prisoner?!"

"Would you like me to list all the reasons?" Kain replied coldly, holding his ground.

Golbez hesitated, then sighed and sagged against the doorframe. "I told you I was sorry for the whole crystal war thing. You know that Zemus was directly controlling most of my actions."

"But not all."

"No, not all . . ." He sagged down a bit lower. "I tried to do the right thing, but I was so muddled as to what that was . . . But I didn't kill Cecil, even though Zemus was yelling at me to. And I did save your life – twice, even."

"Do you expect me to be grateful?"

Golbez scowled and didn't answer for a moment. "I'm trying to fix things, Kain. This is not how I would have chosen for things to turn out. But I'm only human, and most of the past is beyond my ability to change." He paused, then added accusingly, "I would've thought that you, of all people, would understand."

Kain snorted in exasperation and turned away. "You're not helping anything by being here, you know."

"I know." Golbez finally had to straighten up as his feet started to slip on the stone floor. "And the original plan was that I would remain on the ship, while FuSoYa and a couple others sought out Cecil. But after we got attacked by the monsters, the Lunarians absolutely insisted . . ."

"Yeah, yeah . . ." Kain began slowly pacing, his face contorted as he thought. Then he stopped abruptly. "So then, tell me one thing, Golbez. If you're back in your right mind now, and totally free of Zemus's influence, then why can I still hear you telepathically?"

"Um, you see . . ." Golbez hedged as he noted the intensity in Kain's gaze. "Without Zemus's power, I can't control you. But the connection itself is . . . um . . . permanent."

"What?!" Kain's face went white. Somehow, he'd always thought it was just a temporary thing – like a rash; if you stopped scratching it, it would gradually go away. "You–! You mean I'm stuck like this?!"

"It's just the nature of how telepathy works!" Golbez tried to explain quickly. "Like Cecil and me – he's doesn't even remember me – but the bond we formed when we were children is still there! It's a bit weak, but it's still there."

Kain was still a bit wild-eyed. "The bonds can be weakened?"

"Weakened, yes. But they can't ever go away. I'm sorry, Kain."

"Humans aren't meant to have telepathy," Kain groaned redundantly. He braced himself against the opposite wall with one hand. "Why did you have to do this to me?"

"I'm sorry! It was the only way to keep you under control. You were incredibly stubborn, you know, and I would've needed to constantly recast the mind-control spell otherwise." Golbez bit his lip. "I only used telepathy to speak to you recently because it was most convenient. I'm sorry, I didn't realize it bothered you so much. I . . . I won't talk to you that way anymore."

"But the connection still won't go away," Kain said for confirmation.

Golbez shrugged helplessly. "It'll weaken. I'm sorry."

Kain shook his head. "You're always 'sorry.' I guess you're just a very sorry person, aren't you?"

"What?" Golbez just looked confused. Then his stomach rumbled, loudly. He grinned weakly, pleadingly. "Sooo . . . about the idea of sneaking down to the kitchen to eat something . . ."

Kain pushed off the wall and stalked forward again. He planted the tip of his spear in a crevice in the stone floor (in Golbez's mind, a vast improvement over it being pointed at him). "And just what, pray tell, is your brilliant plan to avoid causing another spectacle?"

"Well . . . I thought I'd climb out one of the end windows, and go down the north wall."

"How? By falling? Are there even any handholds?"

"There must be. I saw Marco Pollendina climbing it once."

"Huh." Kain thought a moment, making strange faces as he did, as though the very air tasted sour. "Oh . . . whatever." He resheathed his lance. "But if we run into anyone, you let me do all the talking. Okay?"

"Sure. Thank you, Kain."

"Don't mention it. To anyone. I mean it!"


	11. Mostly Harmless?

_I don't own FFIV. I'm sure you guessed that already. As always, I welcome all feedback, including suggestions for improvement. Especially pointing out mechanical errors or plotholes. _

_National Novel Writing Month is nearly here, and I really want to get this finished first. I don't know if that will happen, but I'm going to try. :) It's always good to aim for the stars, right?_

_

* * *

_

**How to Save the Environment in Two Easy Steps**

_**Step One – kill a lot of monsters.**_

_**Step Two – make the Lunarians go away.**_

_by Maelstra_

_

* * *

_

**Chapter Eleven –** **Mostly Harmless?**

". . . And so that's the very abbreviated version." Excepting the part about Golbez's familial connection to Cecil. That was still too raw, too personal for Cecil to divulge to just anyone. "I never thought that Golbez would return to this planet again, and so I thought it would be best to let his memory quietly fade into oblivion. If I thought there was any remaining danger from him, I assure you I would have told you immediately. However, FuSoYa has assured me – repeatedly – that he completely purged out Zemus's darkness, and Golbez is now completely . . ." He hesitated, because 'harmless' did not quite seem like the right word. "Well – not inclined to do anyone injury." Cecil paused to check the reactions of the core group that he had called into his throne room for a conference.

Edge already knew all this, and more, so he merely looked bored. Yang and Giott looked deeply suspicious. Edward's face was completely expressionless, and so pale that Cecil felt a little worried for the young king. Commander Kerrelt – the next highest-ranking guard after Captain Ferrell – seemed to be vacillating between Yang's and Edward's reactions.

"So why didn't you tell us this before?" Giott questioned, shaking his head. "Do you think the dwarves untrustworthy?"

"No, not at all! Not any of you. I just . . . The truth was a big shock to me, too." Cecil half-shrugged, appealing for understanding. "And in the aftermath of the confrontation, in trying to rebuild the cities that had been destroyed or damaged, I just didn't feel that explaining all these details was that important . . ."

Yang started to make a comment, then seemed to change his mind. Everyone waited for him anyway, and finally he folded his arms and spoke. "What of Golbez's ability to control minds?"

"The Lunarians have assured me that he is no threat to us. I . . . think that means he no longer has that ability." _I'll have to verify this with FuSoYa, as soon as he arrives._ Cecil tried to pick his next words very carefully. _This has been the weakest point all along – if I give them any reason to think Golbez may be controlling me, then it destroys the credibility of anything else that I might say._ "Kain, as you may have heard, has made an effort to strengthen his resistance to all forms of mind-control, with visible success. He has also been watching Golbez closely since his arrival here, and tells me that he has not seen Golbez make any attempts at mind-control. I trust Kain's judgement, and so I also trust Golbez . . . at least to a point."

"Hmm," Yang considered. "I suppose you might be right."

Edge yawned loudly, then added, "Besides that, if it had been me, and if a big mob of villagers had started chasing me, I would have zapped them all and made them into my groveling minions." To the odd looks he received from the others, he added, "If I had mind-control powers, that is!"

Commander Kerrelt interrupted, "But, Cecil, you can't – ! Do you realize what that man did to us?!" His voice tremored in distress. "Jared told me that –"

"Commander, I don't care what Captain Ferrell said," Cecil cut him off quickly. "I know what Golbez did. I know that Zemus used him as a pawn to commit many atrocities on his behalf. Golbez had no choice in the matter, but he still regrets deeply what happened and has been wracked with guilt for it since he regained his mind. That is why he chose to depart from the Blue Planet with the Lunarians." Cecil paused for breath, and noted that he at least had the commander's attention. "He is no threat to you now. Honestly, I think he's even more frightened of all of you than you are of him."

"But . . ." Kerrelt frowned, trying in vain to imagine Golbez frightened.

"Cecil . . . is that man coming with us . . . to fight on the moon?"

Cecil bit his lip, more worried by Edward's soft answer than by any of the others. He could see a glimpse of madness in the depths of the other king's eyes. He answered bluntly, "The Lunarians requested that he come. I don't have the authority to overrule them. They say they need him to defend them since they do not have the training to fight with anything other than magic."

Edward just nodded in response, his face white.

Cecil knew full well what event Edward must be mentally reliving. He mentally cursed Zemus for the day he had tried to annihilate Damcyan by a Redwing airstrike, and he could not help but throw some of the blame onto his brother, too, for failing to resist Zemus's commands.

Cecil started when he recognized his hypocrisy. _What am I doing? Why am I asking them to forgive Golbez when I haven't totally done so myself?_ Cecil clenched both hands into tight fists, and his eyes focused on the floor, just behind Edward._ It isn't really his fault, is it? Kain couldn't break free of Golbez's control – so how could Golbez break free of Zemus's . . . ?_

"Are you willing to fight beside Golbez, then, Cecil?" Yang asked, his voice now quiet.

_He knows! He must! Surely everyone can see in my face what I'm thinking. _Cecil reluctantly looked up to make eye contact with the others. He swallowed with effort, then forced his hands to relax. He knew what he needed to say. "Yes. I will." He wished his voice sounded more certain, but he did not know how to make it so when his heart was wavering like this. _He's . . . my brother . . ._ "I trust my uncle FuSoYa. I promise you that you will be in no danger except from the monsters. Yet, if you don't wish to come . . . that is your own decision. I will not force your choice."

The large doors directly opposite the throne opened. Everyone turned to look, but both Kerrelt and Edward reacted as though they expected Golbez to come walking in, in his old menacing, armored terror.

Instead, FuSoYa entered, trailed by three of the older-looking Lunarians. He approached with confidence, and nodded slightly to Cecil in respect. "I understand you wished to speak with me?"

"Yes . . ." Cecil deliberated about whether or not it was a good idea to ask FuSoYa right then, in front of the others, about Golbez's powers.

But FuSoYa spoke up first. "Cecil, we have just received word from our people on the moon. Their shield is near breaking, and they are putting all their remaining power into speeding the moon's return."

Cecil inhaled sharply. "When will they be here?"

"This evening, approximately five hours from now." FuSoYa drummed his fingers together. "I understand that it would be relatively short notice, but . . . would it be possible for your forces to be ready to travel to the moon the moment it comes into range?" He looked right at Cecil with unusual intensity.

"Of course, Uncle. I believe so, at least . . ." Cecil qualified, mentally running through the statistics he knew of his Baronians and the others' forces.

"Good. Have you made a plan for how you intend to transport these forces to the moon?"

"Er." Cecil had not given any thought to this. "I was assuming you'd have an idea. I guess there's always the Giant Whale. Can you raise it again?"

"Easily," FuSoYa nodded. He then paused and glanced at his companions, as though carrying on an unheard conversation with several of them. "And once we get the initial force onto the moon, if we can secure the area where the remainder of our people slumber, then we should be able to set up a teleportation bridge between the moon and the Blue Planet."

"Wonderful. Have you begun working on this bridge?"

"We finished its construction yesterday," FuSoYa said. "So, in the meantime, we will focus on efforts on preparing the Lunar Whale for travel, if you approve."

"Of course. Please do so."


	12. Ruminations

_I don't own FFIV. I'm sure you guessed that already. As always, I welcome all feedback, including suggestions for improvement. Especially pointing out mechanical errors or plotholes. _

_This chapter was originally much longer, but I had to break it into two because it seemed strange if I didn't. So . . . the next part will come as soon as I can manage._

_

* * *

_

**How to Save the Environment in Two Easy Steps**

_**Step One – kill a lot of monsters.**_

_**Step Two – make the Lunarians go away.**_

_by Maelstra_

_

* * *

_

**Chapter Twelve – Ruminations**

Cecil had called together all the volunteers who were going to the moon into the courtyard outside the castle. Golbez did his best to ignore everyone else present. This was difficult, as all the humans seemed to be steadfastedly looking at him. Except Cecil, that is, because he was deliberately ignoring Golbez for the moment. Golbez was still not quite sure how to read his brother's present mood. Cecil had made no comment when he had gone about gathering people for a general meeting and thereby discovered Golbez and Kain downstairs, eating apples in the Dragoons' break room. Golbez just hoped Cecil was not terribly upset that his orders had been so flippantly disobeyed.

Yet, regardless of how Cecil might or might not feel, FuSoYa was definitely in a bad mood. He was silently fuming, not speaking to Golbez, but often looking darkly at him. This, however, was Golbez's own fault. Evidently FuSoYa had hoped to use the Giant Whale to ferry people up to the moon, but his attempts to raise it had failed. He had come to Golbez, to ask if he knew any reason the ship might no longer function, and Golbez had responded snippily that if Zemus was as clever as the Lunarians kept saying he was, then he probably would have found a way to sabotage the ship in hopes of keeping Cecil and friends from using it. Somehow, this had offended FuSoYa personally, and the old man had not said a word to Golbez since.

_Crazy Lunarians. Always getting mad when I insult their lovely, world-shattering technologies. _Golbez stretched out his arms and yawned loudly.

Kain came over. "Everything alright?" His voice was suspicious.

"Sure." Golbez was very tired of all this constant scrutiny, everyone reading sinister motives into his every move. His few hours of anonymity the first days he had returned here had been bliss. It had been enough to make him wonder if his choice to spend the rest of his life with the Lunarians had been the right one. But now, the eternal serenity of the moon was starting to look good in comparison.

Kain glanced at someone over his shoulder. _(What did you say to get Cid all riled up?)_

That Kain would initiate a telepathic conversation now surprised Golbez. He tried to keep his face blank, to keep other bystanders from catching on that he was talking with the dragoon. _(Nothing! He just wanted to remind me that he knows how to make seventeen kinds of bombs, and that he can swing his hammer hard enough to break any one of my bones!)_

Kain laughed telepathically, and a slight smirk crossed his face. _(Typical Cid.)_

_(I'm so glad you find this amusing,)_ Golbez replied asparticly, turning his back to the dragoon. Cecil was talking to each of the other monarchs, finalizing plans. Golbez tried to catch some of what they were discussing so solemnly. But then Captain Ferrell came up beside the king and glared at Golbez so poisonously that Golbez quickly turned around again.

Kain observed this, and cheerfully commented, _(You know, Cecil talked to Jared personally. He threatened to lock him up, I think, unless he promised to leave you alone.)_

_(How nice of Cecil,)_ Golbez replied, still sarcastically. _(But I can't blame Jared for hating me. Not after his brother and so many others died pointlessly under Zemus's commands.)_

_(Orvin's death wasn't personally your fault, was it?)_

_(Do you really think Jared cares? I wouldn't, if I were in his place.)_

Kain was telepathically silent for a moment. In the meantime, Golbez focused his gaze upward, searching the sky for any sign of the approaching, Lunarian moon.

Kain interrupted Golbez's thoughts yet again. _(Rosa doesn't seem to hate you. )_

With a start, Golbez turned to look at Cecil, and sure enough, saw Rosa standing there beside his brother. She was talking to Yang, but after a moment she glanced Golbez's way and noticed him watching her. Then she gave him a smile – a fairly hesitant one – but a real smile, nonetheless.

Golbez just stared back at her, bewildered. At last, he thought to Kain, _(I can't understand why.)_

"Hmh," Kain grunted. He nudged Golbez's shoulder to get his attention, then pointed up at the sky. "So, is the Lunarian's moon that pink thing?"

Golbez scanned the sky for said object. It took him a minute to find the pale circle. "Yes . . . that looks right." He decided to take Kain's vocal comment as a signal that the telepathic conversation was officially over.

"So, I guess we all get to crowd onto the Lunarians' little ship now," Kain said drily. "Fun, fun."

Golbez grunted. "You have no idea. The internal area of that ship is only half the size of Baron's dungeon. With all the people Cecil intends to bring . . ."

"Standing room only, huh?" Kain made a face. "Well then I really hope this'll be a short flight . . ."

FuSoYa hurried over to speak to Cecil, who then nodded and waved an arm in the air to try to take charge, and to begin explaining the first steps of the Lunarians' plan.


	13. It's a Party

_I don't own FFIV. I'm sure you guessed that already. As always, I welcome all feedback, including suggestions for improvement. Especially pointing out mechanical errors or plotholes. _

_Now can you see why I had to split this chapter? It's still kind of long, but I think it's okay now. And only two days left before NaNoWriMo . . . There's no way I'll get this completely done, but I'm hoping to have most of the editing done by Thursday._

_Anyway, enjoy. :)_

_

* * *

_

**How to Save the Environment in Two Easy Steps**

_**Step One – kill a lot of monsters.**_

_**Step Two – make the Lunarians go away.**_

_by Maelstra_

_

* * *

_

**Chapter Thirteen – It's a Party**

The ship rocked violently after FuSoYa settled it down on the surface of the moon. "Don't panic!" he assured everyone. "We merely landed atop some of the monsters. Now, on my signal, prepare to open the door . . ."

"Who's going first?" Edge asked. "Hey, maybe we could throw Golbez out first –"

"Those closest to the door go out first," Cecil interrupted, a bit irritably. Four hours was a long time to be stuck with a bunch of hot-tempered people. "Golbez would have to climb over everyone else to get out, anyway." This was true – Golbez had spent most of the flight in the farthest corner from the door, half-concealed behind machinery and probably hoping that the others might forget he was there.

"He's just hiding over there so he doesn't have to help," Edge grumbled under his breath, only loud enough for Cecil to properly hear.

Cecil ignored him. "Ready, uncle."

FuSoYa was watching a metal panel covered with a mystifying variety of twinkling lights and symbols. He seemed to be waiting for some sort of sign. The ship shuddered again, twice. Finally, after a prolonged pause, FuSoYa said, "Open the door."

Cecil drew the Excalibur first, then hit the switch. It was lucky he did, because the instant the door started sliding, dozens of cyclopians tried to force their way into the ship. Several clutched at his face, and they were all crammed so close that their bodies were hampering each others' wings. "Ack! Don't - let - them - in!" With difficulty, Cecil sliced through several of the monsters, but their sheer numbers made any motion difficult.

"Cecil, duck!"

Cecil immediately heeded Cid's command, ducking low and scuttling several steps back. The cyclopians let the bomb pass through their cloud, not recognizing it as a threat. Then it detonated, turning dozens of the flying creatures into dust. Most of the remainder squealed and backed away. Those that remained and crowded into the ship were easily dispatched.

FuSoYa shouted at everyone, "Move out! Hurry, before they return and trap us in!"

Cecil was already moving out the door, Edge at his back, and Cid close behind. Captain Ferrell and two Eblanian ninjas crept out next, trailed by Kain, Commander Kerrelt, Yang, four of the Lunarians, and four fighting monks from Fabul. Golbez squeezed around FuSoYa and the remaining Lunarians and headed for the door. The monks gave him stony looks as he emerged, but he ignored them and tried to work his way closer to Cecil.

The cyclopians swarmed around them all the way, requiring constant struggling in order to move very far. Cecil tried to lead the assault on the monsters with all enthusiasm, but by the time a female Lunarian crept closer enough to heal the few scratches he had obtained, Cecil could see that they would not prevail. Hundreds of cyclopians flew around them, over them, happily singing in their singsongy way. Cecil turned back toward the ship and yelled, "FuSoYa! We can't beat all these! Which way is the cave?!"

The old man emerged and struck a monster with each step he took. The blows from his cane were not enough to do more than briefly stun the cyclopians. "That way! Can you see the trail?"

Golbez looked in the indicated direction and shook his head. "You'd best lead, unc - um, FuSoYa! I'll guard you." He cut down several monsters as he skirted through the group to reach his uncle.

FuSoYa merely nodded and started forward at a brisk pace, forcing Golbez to proactively remain close by to strike down most of the monsters in his way.

"Hurry!" Cecil called back to the rest of the group needlessly. He then darted ahead to take up guarding FuSoYa from the other side.

With speed and pure determination, the group quickly traversed about a quarter mile across the lunar surface, passing around and between tall stone precipices. FuSoYa paused for a moment, then started down a narrow crack between two large boulders. "We'll take the back way in," he said to his nephews for explanation.

Golbez squeezed through the gap ahead of Cecil, despite Cecil's effort to cut in front. On the other side, FuSoYa waited for them in front of the opening of a cave. Cyclopians were trickling out through the opening, about one per second, to join the already-large flock that trailed them, crooning incessantly. "Hurry, now! The passage to the sleeping chamber is near!"

Yang ducked below the crowd of monsters and jogged to get within talking distance. "The swarm behind us is growing larger," he said grimly. "We will likely have great difficulty returning to the ship."

"That is all right," FuSoYa responded, still calm. "Our main goal here was to activate a teleportation focus. We can return to the Blue Planet that way, if nothing else."

Cecil frowned, bothered by something in FuSoYa's words, and yet not quite sure what it was. Before he could figure it out, he had to hurry forward again, to catch up with his uncle and brother who were already descending into the crystalline cave. Cecil's footsteps clattered on the shimmering, self-illuminating stone, the sound barely loud enough to be heard over the wailing of the cyclopians. He could hear Edge behind him complaining about how much farther they were going to have to walk. Then Cecil could no longer hear his footsteps, and soon he could no longer here his companions behind him, because the crooning of cyclopians was so strong as to drown out everything else.

Cecil rounded a corner and bumped into Golbez, who had stopped, staring at the path ahead of them. Cecil stared too as his jaw dropped in shock. Just ahead, the trail plainly dropped down into a lower area, and continued on for a ways out of sight. The entire large valley up ahead was completely full of flying, singing cyclopians. There were easily thousands. Easily tens of thousands. "FuSoYa . . . ?" Cecil could not quite finish vocalizing the question.

"Ah . . ." Even FuSoYa was taken aback. "It . . . they were not so many when we left!"

The rest of their party caught up and stopped in their tracks, each one by one. Cecil finally summoned up his courage and said, "We can't stop. The Lunarians are counting on us. We must find a way to get through!"

"Are you crazy, Cecil?" Kain asked coolly. "We've been fighting every inch of our way to get this far . . ."

"Step aside, children. I've got things under control," Cid said smugly, pulling out two of his bombs. He set the tiny explosives up, then hurled them into the nearly-solid cloud ahead. They exploded brilliantly, vaporizing perhaps a couple hundred of the cyclopians each. The surviving monsters crooned angrily and began fluttering closer to their enemies.

"Cid!" Kain sputtered.

"Bah. I guess I'll have to resort to the big ones . . ." Cid pulled out several orbs that were each about the size of his fist. He quickly prepped and threw them in quick succession.

These bombs rocked the cavern and filled the air with a thick black smoke. The unseen monsters collectively wailed.

"Hurry, while they're distracted!" FuSoYa ordered, charging ahead. Golbez coughed and held his right sleeve over his face to try to screen the smoke, then vanished into the darkness after his uncle. The rest of the group tried to follow suit, but were hindered by cyclopians that would dive down from above, screaming at them, trying to claw their faces and push them backwards.

Cecil led the charge, hacking away at any monsters that came within range of his strikes. Yang stayed close to Cecil's side, striking any monsters that Cecil missed. The rest of the group focused more on forming a protective ring around the Lunarians, whom the monsters seemed to especially be targeting.

Minutes later, Cecil was startled to see Golbez and FuSoYa coming back up the trail. "What's wrong?!" he demanded of FuSoYa.

Golbez answered, hoarsely, "It's completely impassable! Cecil – they must have been waiting for us to try to come back. They're stacked up on each other, filling the entire passageway – they don't even have enough room to fly!" A dozen cyclopians flew down low, grabbing his long hair and trying to pull him backwards. Golbez grunted, then spun and slashed his sword through several, enough to free himself. "Cecil, if we stay in here much longer we're likely going to be smothered!"

"Well – so . . . what are we going to do?!" Cecil sputtered.

"Here – get everyone close," FuSoYa commanded. He extended his right hand towards Cecil. "Either touch me, or touch someone who's touching me."

Golbez grabbed onto FuSoYa's left arm, and Cecil grabbed FuSoYa's right hand with his left, so he could extend his own right hand backwards to try to reach the others. Kain relayed the message back to those who couldn't hear, and quickly they formed as tight a chain as they could, while ducking down to avoid the monsters. FuSoYa watched intently until everyone was linked somehow, then he murmured magical words under his breath, and the cave slowly shimmered and warped around them.

Their new location was also a subsurface Lunarian cave. A few of the cyclopians had come along with them, but the soldiers quickly destroyed the closest ones, and Kain leapt into the air to strike down the ones that tried to fly away.

This new cave captured Cecil's full attention. He walked towards the center, studying the stone pillars that formed a circle around the edges of the room. A beautiful, shining crystal topped each pillar, and in the very center of this cave was a plate of some sort of metallic surface that shimmered independently of the lighting in the room. "This looks so familiar. FuSoYa, is this –?"

"Yes, this is the teleportation chamber you arrived in before, when you followed us to the moon to fight Zemus." FuSoYa started going around the room, systematically touching and chanting beside every one of the pillars. As he did so, each crystal responded by flaring up for a second, then going almost completely dark. After he made the rounds to each crystal, he moved into the center of the room. "We had not reset this chamber after we programmed it to send you to the uttermost depths of the moon, where Zemus was formerly sealed. With the aid of the Lunarians in the sleeping chamber, I will now reprogram it to create a bridge between the moon and the Blue Planet."

"So, you've already set up a corresponding panel on the Blue Planet?" Golbez asked sharply.

FuSoYa glowered at his older nephew. "I told you, it was necessary. We had to prepare for this eventuality."

"You don't seem terribly upset about it," Golbez retorted.

"I am merely making the most of an . . . undesirable situation," FuSoYa replied coolly. "Even you admitting that we seem to have no other choice, correct? Now be silent – I must concentrate."

Golbez growled softly and clenched his hands into fists. But he made no further effort to distract the old Lunarian from casting his spell. The other dozen Lunarians moved to stand at equal intervals around the room, and joined in the casting as well. The crystals shone brighter again, and a gentle humming sound reverberated through the chamber. The panel that FuSoYa stood on grew brighter and brighter until . . . FuSoYa completely disappeared. Most of the humans watching gasped.

Golbez grunted. "FuSoYa says it worked. He wants us to follow him."

"Oh, and I suppose you expect us to go first," said Captain Ferrell acidly.

In response, Golbez just snorted and stomped over to the still-shimmering panel. He disappeared in a flash. None of the humans were eager to follow, and none of the Lunarians made any move to depart, instead remaining in their same positions without even seeming to blink.

_(Cecil, please.)_ The paladin king involuntarily flinched as he heard Golbez's voice in his mind. _(FuSoYa says you must persuade the others to follow you. I promise it's safe – it merely leads to a teleporting panel that the Lunarians set up in the forest of Baron.)_ Cecil said nothing, but involuntarily stiffened. Honestly, he did not know if it was the prospect of stepping onto the Lunarian device, or the realization that Golbez could still speak casually to his mind, that unnerved him more. He grimly set his face, then stepped onto the shimmering panel. He heard his guards protest, then the lunar cave vanished in a flash of light, to be replaced by an open field. Cecil immediately saw FuSoYa and Golbez standing to one side, and so he stepped off the rough, metallic panel to join them. A moment later, Kain also appeared in a burst of light. After that, the others came through a bit more quickly, with Cid last of all. He lingered on the panel, studying it and muttering under his breath.

"I thank you all for your bravery in confronting this dreadful threat," FuSoYa said to the group loudly as he approached them with slow steps. He spread his arms wide, then bowed his head slightly in apology. "It is truly unfortunate our efforts to defeat Zemus's curse have ended in failure."


	14. Problematic Neighbors

_I don't own FFIV. I'm sure you guessed that already. As always, I welcome all feedback, including suggestions for improvement. Especially pointing out mechanical errors or plotholes. _

_I can't think of anything clever to say. Um . . . have a nice day?_

_

* * *

_

**How to Save the Environment in Two Easy Steps**

_**Step One – kill a lot of monsters.**_

_**Step Two – make the Lunarians go away.**_

_by Maelstra_

_

* * *

_

**Chapter Fourteen – Problematic Neighbors**

"I'm so sorry, Uncle," Cecil murmured, rubbing his eye with the back of his hand. "The other Lunarians still trapped there . . . is there nothing else that can be done?"

"There is one last option, Cecil," FuSoYa responded, his face utterly serious. "We Lunarians had discussed it from the start. For various reasons, it was not a very desirable option, but . . . it is surely better than perishing. With your permission, Cecil . . . the rest of the Lunarians will immediately evacuate through this teleportation bridge to your planet."

Cecil frowned. "I thought you said they were trapped in their sleeping chamber."

"I did – they are. That is to say, they could not reach safety on their own. The Blue Planet is too far away. However, all the Lunarians can easily teleport themselves to the teleportation chamber. All preparations are made, and they are merely awaiting your word." FuSoYa clasped his arms behind his back and smiled expectantly.

"Ah . . . of course . . . tell them to come . . ."

"Thank you, Cecil," FuSoYa beamed. "We are eternally in your debt." His eyes unfocused as he stared at an unspecified, distant point, calling the Lunarians. Only seconds later, the teleportation panel began flickering again as people materialized there in a steady stream.

"Just where are we, anyway?" Cecil asked of FuSoYa.

"Not far from our initial landing site," the old Lunarian responded. "Baron is just a short walk away, to the southeast."

"Good . . ."

Edge came up and nudged Cecil. "So, what's the deal now?"

"The Lunarians are evacuating to our world," Cecil responded automatically. He saw Golbez scowling fiercely, and then made a new connection. Frowning, Cecil said, "But FuSoYa – you don't mean to stay . . . permanently, do you?"

"But Cecil . . ." The old man wrinkled his forehead in a puzzled manner. "What else can we do? It will be a great sacrifice for us, of course, to have to abandon our relics from our old world – and this world has nothing but the most primitive of technologies – but we will try to be brave in the face of our troubles. And we will certainly not neglect your people, never fear; in exchange for the use of the land, we will share our inventions with all the peoples of the Blue Planet."

"They don't want your technologies, Uncle," Golbez hissed. "KluYa tried and failed to get them to accept anything more advanced than the airships."

Cecil glanced around to see if anyone else caught Golbez's slip. FuSoYa in the meantime responded sharply, "Once they see the practicality of our technologies, they will want them. No one could possibly want to live in such a primitive way when there is something better."

"KluYa did!" Golbez glowered down at the shorter old man.

"I find it hard to believe that –"

"Golbez – please . . ." Cecil pushed Golbez back, away from FuSoYa. He whispered loudly, "Not now."

Golbez made a strained noise, like he very much wanted to continue arguing over the top of Cecil . . . but he backed off.

"Thank you, Cecil," FuSoYa sniffed. "Now I need to assist with the refugees and the teleportation bridge."

"Uh, sure . . ." Edge grabbed Cecil's shoulder again. "Yes, Edge?"

"So what do we do now?"

"Ah . . . return to Baron, I suppose."

"That's it?! We run home with our tails between our legs?!"

Cecil shrugged helplessly. "What do you want to do? We succeeded in our main goal: rescue the Lunarians. We didn't even suffer any losses. What more do you need?"

Edge grumbled, "The sweet taste of victory over a numerically superior foe?"

"Maybe next time, Edge." Kain slapped a hand on Edge's shoulder.

Edge drew the Murasame without pause. "Move that hand or lose it, dragoon-y boy."

"Whatever." Kain pulled back his hand as smoothly as though it were totally his own idea.

Cecil rolled his eyes. He cleared his throat to get all the humans' attention, then said, "On behalf of Baron, I thank you all for offering your assistance. Rest assured that Baron will similarly assist you in your time of need. You are all now dismissed, with my thanks." He paused, then in a less grandiose voice added, "Let's head back to Baron." Cecil slowly swept his eyes over everyone present. Most looked a bit disgruntled, or at least a bit tired, but Golbez's dark expression was impossible to interpret. Cecil hoped his brother would have the sense not to follow him back to Baron; frustrations were high, and Golbez would be too easy of a target for those frustrations. Finally Cecil turned and started walking down the only visible path, a wide swath of dead grass that led between the trees.

Cecil noticed the smell first. His nose itched from it, but he could not place the smell as anything familiar.

Kain caught up and fell into pace beside Cecil. "What's wrong with the trees?" he asked in a low voice.

Only then did Cecil notice that most of the foliage around them was yellow or orange – typical autumn colors, but much too soon for this part of the forest. They kept walking, and soon all the trees were completely bare of their leaves. The smell was much stronger, almost poisonous. Cecil covered his mouth to try to block the effect.

The path veered off to the left, toward some trees that still had most of their leaves. Cecil charged purposefully off to the right, stomping through the dead underbrush and browned leaves. Not far ahead, the trees abruptly stopped at the edge of a two-acre-wide, artificial clearing someone had created in the middle of the forest. All the plant life around the edges was completely dead and blackened, and the clearing itself had been bare except for pools of dark orange sludge. The smell was unquestionably coming from that liquid. Cecil spent a minute looking around for a safe path to walk further ahead, not daring to get his boots into that sludge. The ground ahead slowly sloped downward, and the centermost part of the clearing was a deep pit. Cecil did not want to get too close, but from where he stopped, he could not see the bottom. The strange odor of the place was starting to make him feel dizzy, so he quickly turned and retreated back.

Kain had not come any closer than the edge of the dead trees, but Cid had come halfway across the clearing. "Do you have any idea what this is?" Cecil asked, openly worried.

"My first thought is that someone was trying to make airship fuel," the old engineer responded. He broke off into coughing.

Cecil motioned for him to keep moving back to the treeline. "But airship fuel doesn't poison the land like this!"

"The process of refining the fuel . . . does create some waste material that we have to carefully dispose of." Cid half coughed, half cleared his throat. "But I can tell you, this wasn't from airship fuel. This is much larger scale, and much more noxious."

They reached the treeline, and Kain greeted them with, "Is someone trying to poison Baron?"

In dismay, Cecil mentally retraced all the conversations he'd had with FuSoYa. "No . . . I think . . . the Lunarians told me they wanted permission to conduct some 'experiments' . . ."

"What kind of experiments?" Cid asked with a scowl.

Cecil shook his head. He pushed past his two friends. "I'm going to go ask them. You two see that the others get back to the castle."

He soon returned to the still-living clearing that contained the teleportation bridge. Several Lunarians were standing in a clump, just looking at each other, and Golbez was off to one side leaning against a tree. Cecil asked all present, loudly, "Where is FuSoYa?"

"Oh? I'm right here." The old man strode out of the forest. "What is it, Cecil?"

"Uncle, can you tell me about the crater in the clearing?"

"Which one?"

"Which . . . what?"

"Which clearing? We have a total of four experiments running at present."

Cecil just gaped for a moment. "Four . . . but . . . Uncle, it's killed all the forest around it!"

"Yes. An unfortunate side-effect of the process."

"S-side-effect?" Cecil could not understand how FuSoYa could remain so calm. "But what about the ground? Won't any water that runs through those areas be poisoned, too?"

"Yes, but don't worry – we will build enough water purifiers for your city. It won't be any trouble."

"T-trouble?" Cecil was having problems speaking, let alone framing his thoughts. He glanced over at Golbez, who said nothing. He didn't have to – the look on his face plainly said, 'I tried to warn you, didn't I?'

FuSoYa raised an eyebrow. "Is there a problem, Cecil?"

"Is there a problem?!" Cecil rubbed his forehead with both hands, and took deep soothing breaths. _'Lunarians don't think the way humans do'_ he thought he recalled Golbez telling him. "FuSoYa, how important are these experiments?"

"Oh . . . not terribly at the moment. We were just seeing if this planet has the correct materials to manufacture the heavy fuels we used to generate power and run machinery back on our home planet."

"I see. So you can discontinue them?"

"Only in the short run. Once we get settled, and start constructing our cities, we'll need those fuels, and in much larger quantities."

"And how much of the surface of the Blue Planet will it destroy to create all this?" Golbez asked, his voice very carefully controlled.

FuSoYa scowled at the interruption anyway. "Golbez, I have had enough of your animosity toward our culture! You owe more respect to –"

"Uncle, please . . . I would like to know the answer to Golbez's question," Cecil asked softly.

FuSoYa hesitated, then answered, "Well, that would be hard to estimate at present . . . Still, I would say that only about half the habitable surface area of the planet would be required –"

"And the other half would be covered by cities that have to be enclosed by bubbles to protect the inhabitants from the poisonous air," Golbez finished.

"Is that true, uncle?"

"Well . . . yes . . ."

"This goes against everything KluYa worked for!" Golbez all but shouted. "While Zemus was plotting to wipe out the humans, and the rest of you were just waiting for the Blue Planet to grow more accustomed to using high technology, KluYa was trying to reconcile the two cultures! He got the humans to accept the airships and the Serpent Path. Then, in exchange, he tried to get the Lunarians to give up some of their unnecessary machines, but they only ignored him!"

"My brother," FuSoYa said coldly, "was over-enraptured with the idea of primitive styles of life. But we most certainly did not ignore him, despite his oddness of personality."

Golbez shook his head. "You didn't even try to understand his point of view. You've never cared about what is actually best for the humans. After all, you didn't even try to stop Zemus until KluYa was already dead."

"Silence! I will not take any more of this from you! Your behavior is most unbecoming a Lunarian!"

Golbez opened his mouth to retort, but no sound came out. He looked surprised, then glared at his uncle as though trying to bore a hole through his face with his mind.

FuSoYa seemed not to notice, and relaxed his face back into its usual calm expression and said to his other nephew, "Cecil, I'm sorry you had to listen to that. I think you, at least, understand me. Now, I must go – the refugees brought some supplies with them, but –"

"FuSoYa – please stop the experiments until further notice."

The old man inhaled so quickly he almost choked. "But Cecil . . ."

Cecil straightened up and tried to imitate the regal bearing of the previous king of Baron. "When you first asked me for permission, I misunderstood your intentions. I doubt you intended to deceive . . . but your experiments affect more than the immediate region, and I do not have the authority to answer for all the people concerned. So please – no more experiments, and no more exploiting of the land – until I explicitly give you permission to do so."

"But, Cecil! How do you expect us to survive?"

"You said you have some supplies? If you need anything more, you need only come to Baron and ask me. I'll meet with my advisors, and we will try to work something out for you for the long run."

FuSoYa bristled and fumed. "You disappoint me, Cecil! But . . . we will bow to your wishes." FuSoYa made it sound as though he were agreeing to submit to torture. He smacked his staff into the ground, and stormed off into the bushes.

Cecil looked over at the cluster of Lunarians, who were now giving him a mix of horrified and perplexed looks. He then glanced back at Golbez, who was smiling broadly.

_(Well said, Cecil,)_ Golbez's voice softly spoke into Cecil's mind.

Again, the faint touch made Cecil uncomfortable. He did not know how to respond. He simply nodded curtly, then turned and started back down the trail.


	15. Golbez’s Idea

_I don't own FFIV. I'm sure you guessed that already. As always, I welcome all feedback, including suggestions for improvement. Especially pointing out mechanical errors or plotholes. _

_Happy Halloween! And Happy NaNoWriMo Eve to anyone else out there who's participating, too!_

_

* * *

_

**How to Save the Environment in Two Easy Steps**

_**Step One – kill a lot of monsters.**_

_**Step Two – make the Lunarians go away.**_

_by Maelstra_

_

* * *

_

**Chapter Fifteen – Golbez's Idea **

The walls of Baron were just coming into sight. Cecil was deeply lost in his thoughts, but still managed to hear someone approaching quickly from behind. He spun around to face whoever it was.

It was Golbez.

"Cecil!" Golbez's face was slightly flushed from running. "Wait! I need to talk to you!"

_Oh not again . . ._ It seemed like all Golbez ever wanted to do was talk to Cecil, and tell him things he didn't want to hear. Nevertheless, Cecil remained in place and waited for Golbez to catch up.

Golbez slowed his run once he realized that Cecil was not going to try to avoid him. He crossed the last few yards in a brisk walk, then immediately said, "Now you understand why the Lunarians don't belong on this planet. But I want to help you. I think there's still a chance we can defeat the monsters and get the Lunarians to go back to the moon."

"But how? You, yourself said that there were too many to even approach!"

"Yes, but . . . that was only around the sleeping chamber. Elsewhere, I don't think they'd be so dense. All we really need to do, after all, is discover and eliminate their source."

"Golbez . . ." Cecil frowned. "If there really was any chance we could have done so, don't you think that FuSoYa would have tried it?"

The other man bit his lip and shrugged slightly. "Maybe . . . but in my opinion, he wasn't trying very hard. Saving the Lunarians was his first priority, and with good reason, but . . . I think he had already decided before we went up to the moon what he was going to do."

"You think he wanted to move the Lunarians down here all along? But that's not what he said," Cecil protested.

"I know, but . . . I think he was patronizing you at bit. I think he was assuming that you wouldn't understand his reasoning anyway."

Cecil shook his head. "You always choose to assume the worst of him."

"I know him better than you do, Cecil!" Golbez folded his arms. "Look – he didn't tell you about the experiments from the start, did he? He was deliberately vague with you because he already knew how the humans would react. Don't try to tell me he didn't!" Golbez quickly cut Cecil off before he could say anything to protest. "KluYa sent hundreds of reports back to the moon: reports on human traditions, mindsets, intellectual levels, and so forth. FuSoYa told me this. He knew that you and the other humans would object to his craters!"

Cecil tried to just focus on his breathing for a moment, rather than snapping back with something he might regret. The notion of believing such things about his uncle made him feel almost queasy._ Deep breath in . . . deep breath out . . . how do I deal with this . . . ? _"I don't know what to say to that," he finally responded, still sounding a bit accusing.

"Fine." Golbez caught on that he was not going to gain anything more from the line of argument, so he dropped it. "But, back to the main point – I want to go back up to the moon one last time, and try to kill this plague at its source. I want to leave as soon as possible, in case the monsters haven't yet figured out that the Lunarians have gone, and are still clustering around the sleeping chamber."

"Alright then. But what do you want from me?"

"Um . . ." Golbez looked a bit discomfitted. "I just . . . thought I'd ask if you or anyone else wanted to come along. It's your fight too, after all. But I know how most humans feel about me, so if you don't want to, then I'll just go by myself . . ." He shifted nervously.

Cecil gazed for almost a full minute, studying Golbez closely, trying to decide his sincerity. If Golbez was lying . . . and yet, if he wasn't . . .

Golbez plainly did not like the scrutiny. He backed up. "So, I guess I'll just head along . . ."

"Hold it." Cecil crossed his arms and drummed his fingertips on his sleeves. "Do you actually think you have a chance of succeeding on your own?"

Golbez shrugged and grinned sheepishly. "Well . . . anything's possible, right? But . . . I'd probably have a much better chance if someone else came with me."

"Then why are you doing this? This isn't your world, isn't your fight."

"This is my world!" Golbez's eyes blazed up. "I'm as human as you are!" The burst of fury quickly dissipated. He almost seemed to shrink, becoming something smaller and weaker. "Besides . . . just once, I'd like to be able to do something that would let you remember me as more than just . . . Zemus's ex-pawn." He helplessly once, then waited for any sign of response.

Cecil's face was blank, but his mind was racing as he tried to form a suitable reply. He already knew his first inclination, but did not know if it was right. Afterall if he took Golbez's offer, how would the others react? And what of Baron: what was best for it and its people?

Evidently Cecil took long enough thinking that Golbez decided he was not going to get a response. Without a word, he started heading back down the path, his feet scuffing up little puffs of dust.

Cecil hurried forward and grabbed his brother's shoulder. "I can't speak for everyone . . . but Kain and Edge, at least, will likely want to go."

Golbez nodded and turned halfway around. He looked at a point far off in the distance, rather than at his brother. "Can they be ready quickly?"

"I'll encourage them."

"Good." Golbez straightened up as Cecil quickly pulled his hand away from his shoulder.

"Um . . . I suppose you'd better come with me." Cecil rubbed his forehead in anticipation of the headache that would soon come. He caught Golbez's eye, then started walking towards Baron once more.

"That's alright – I could wait by the teleportation panel, if you'd prefer." Despite his words, Golbez immediately came up and followed right behind his brother.

"No . . . Since it's your plan, I think you need to explain it in person." _Cid will certainly have a lot of questions, if we can persuade him to come._

"As you like, brother."

Cecil didn't look, yet somehow he was certain that Golbez was smiling.


	16. Objection Overruled

_I don't own FFIV. I'm sure you guessed that already. As always, I welcome all feedback, including suggestions for improvement. Especially pointing out mechanical errors or plotholes. _

_Short chapter. I really hope to get this story done soon, since I want to be able to focus most of my efforts on my NaNoWriMo writing. Sigh. The last few chapters are being really stubborn. I've lost track of how many times I've rewritten them now. Maybe I'm also being too much of a perfectionist again. I don't know. But anyway, I'll try to put the next chapter up tomorrow, and then . . . we'll see._

_Happy NaNoWriMo, everyone!_

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**How to Save the Environment in Two Easy Steps**

_**Step One – kill a lot of monsters.**_

_**Step Two – make the Lunarians go away.**_

_by Maelstra_

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_

**Chapter Sixteen – Objection Overruled**

"This is lunacy," FuSoYa grumbled as he led his visitors up to the makeshift teleportation pad.

"How appropriate for 'Lunarians' then, don't you think?" Golbez replied with a chuckle.

"No! Nor do I see why you find it so funny!" FuSoYa snapped.

Cecil quickly squashed the smile that threatened to emerge. They needed FuSoYa's help – he couldn't afford to offend the Lunarian now.

The large group tromped through the forest, enlarging the path the Lunarians had burned into the undergrowth. Everyone who had participated in the first trip to the moon was present, as were a few more. Giott and all his dwarves had requested to come this time, as had more of the Fabulians and Eblanians. The fighters from Damcyan had also volunteered to come, but their king had been required to remain behind. Cecil had insisted on this after Edward had snapped that morning and started assailing Golbez with pain-enducing musical attacks. Golbez had recovered quickly enough, but Edward needed to be physically restrained. It was probably only a temporary nervous breakdown – or so Cecil hoped. Regardless, the young king was presently in the care of Cid's daughter, and would hopefully be alright unto they returned.

Rosa slipped her arm through Cecil's for reassurance. "Are you ready? And don't try to tell me again that you wish I'd stay home."

"No, Rosa, I've learned. I'm happy to have you with me," Cecil answered honestly.

Rosa grinned widely, and leaned over to kiss Cecil on the cheek. "Ah, you are a wise king."

FuSoYa stopped beside the warped, squarish panel that served as the Baronian side of the bridge. He cleared his throat loudly. "I hope you all know that I think this venture terribly ill-advised."

"Yes, uncle, thank you. We are well aware of your feelings." After Rosa released his arm, Cecil stepped up to join FuSoYa beside the panel. "Nevertheless, we intend to go anyway. Now, if you'll please assist us as you promised you would . . ."

FuSoYa fumed, but did start directing the other Lunarians hanging around the clearing to take up positions in a ring, as before. They started chanting as soon as they were in position, and the panel began to glow a brilliant white. Then FuSoYa strode into the glow, and disappeared in a blinding flare.

"He made it," Golbez announced instantly. "It's safe to travel." He hurriedly walked to the panel and disappeared as well.

Cecil followed right after. A blaze of light surrounded him, and then faded to become the interior of a lunar cave: specifically, the teleportation chamber, as before. The crystals atop their pillars twinkled on and off, apparently at random. Cecil could not see anyone else at first, but after a moment spotted both FuSoYa and his brother behind a pillar, discussing some object that FuSoYa held. Cecil hurried over to see what it was.

FuSoYa was in the midst of showing Golbez a map, and pointing to sections on it, one by one. Golbez occasionally nodded. The only sound Cecil heard was that of the teleportation bridge humming as each additional person came through, so he wondered if FuSoYa was explaining the drawing via telepathy. For once, Cecil wished he could hear what was being said.

Golbez grunted as though in conclusion, and took the map from FuSoYa. FuSoYa only then acknowledged Cecil's presence, but simply said, "I will wait in this chamber for your return. There is a secret passage out of this room, which Golbez knows how to operate. From there, he will lead you toward the most likely place for the creatures to be originating from."

Cecil nodded. "Thank you . . . for your help, Uncle FuSoYa."

FuSoYa just shook his head and settled himself down on a bench carved into the wall of rock. "The Lunarians have millenia of knowledge and wisdom that we would share with you! How could you not want it?"

Cecil considered carefully before replying. "Uncle . . . I know you've already waited a long time – but, I don't think the Blue Planet is ready for all this yet."

The Lunarian sighed, ". . . I suppose you're right. I had gotten my hopes up. After meeting you, children of this world my brother fought to save . . . We wanted to help you. We wanted to give you the best of the ancient Lunarian civilization, to make your lives easier – and better."

"Well, honestly . . . to me, it sounds more like you just wanted to be sure your culture wouldn't die," Cecil observed. "Your world no longer exists . . . and you don't want to be forgotten."

"Indeed. Cecil, you are quite right." FuSoYa clasped his heavy staff with both hands. "And it is hard for me to accept . . . after all we labored through to gain these amazing inventions, your world doesn't want them." Again he shook his head. "I don't know that I'll ever understand what KluYa saw in your planet."

"I think you still could," Golbez argued. "But first, you'll have to learn to accept the Blue Planet's own innovations for what they are."

"Insolent whelp," FuSoYa snorted. "Always talking down to your elders. Just like your father used to do."

Golbez's face brightened, and a smile flickered across his face. Cecil wanted to ask more into this issue, but FuSoYa sprang up from the bench and walked away. "Don't bother me anymore. Don't you have a quest to be tending to?"

Cecil turned his attention back to his group, and once he verified by count that everyone had come across the bridge, he started trying to organize everyone and solidify a plan in his mind.


	17. Ready to Party

_I don't own FFIV. I'm sure you guessed that already. As always, I welcome all feedback, including suggestions for improvement. Especially pointing out mechanical errors or plotholes. _

_It's an update!! Hooray!! At last!!_

_And actually, I think the NaNoWriMo break did me some good – I've gotten some much-needed perspective on these hard-to-write final chapters. I hope that shows through._

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**How to Save the Environment in Two Easy Steps**

_**Step One – kill a lot of monsters.**_

_**Step Two – make the Lunarians go away.**_

_by Maelstra_

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**Chapter Seventeen – Ready to Party**

They lost nearly an hour before they finally got under way. Golbez tried to help by assigning different groups to different sections on the map, but it only increased the confusion and tension because no one wanted to be placed by Golbez. At last, he just gave up his efforts entirely, leaving Cecil to do it himself. Kain and Cid both backed Cecil, though, and helped convince everyone to accept their assignments into ten groups of roughly equal numbers.

Once the arguing subsided, Golbez directed everyone to follow him to the opposite side of the room – and everyone kept close, not wanting Golbez to get out of their sight, for one reason or another. He stopped right at a bulge in the crystalline wall, and placed both hands flush on it and started chanting. A large region of the wall, twice as tall as he was, glowed blue and slid upward. In the space left behind was a steep, narrow staircase. Golbez turned and glanced back into the sea of suspicious faces. He forced a weak smile. "I guess I'll go first."

At the top, Golbez again had to cast a spell on the stone to make the wall open. Before proceeding, he drew his sword. He whispered down behind him, "We're in the open now – better arm yourselves." Then he squeezed through the hole and jogged out into the next cave.

As the Invasion Party II from the Blue Planet proceeded into the depths of the moon, they slowly split off into their smaller groups. As Golbez had explained, the Lunarians knew only the approximate area from which the cyclopians were appearing, and over a dozen major corridors intersected that region, and all would need to be searched. Golbez had initially tried to make some assignments for these different parties, hoping to keep their strengths roughly equal, but he had been ferociously vetoed. By their own choice, everyone tended to cluster with the others of their nation. In the case of some – especially Damcyan's – this was not strategically wise, but Golbez had given up arguing. He supposed he ought to be happy enough that the humans had consented to come at all.

Golbez intended to strike out alone at some point, and keep searching by himself. However, most of the people from Baron were still persistently trailing after him, no matter how cleverly he tried to lose them. It was getting a bit annoying. And besides that, none of the Baronians had yet split off to go search on their own. Golbez could understand that they'd want to stick close to their king out of loyalty, but he thought it was still excessive to have Cecil, Rosa, Cid, Kain, Jared, Kerrelt, Tael, Ashton, and five new guards all in the same group. Golbez paused in his walk and told Cecil so.

Cecil just shrugged. "If you find another likely passage for us to check, I'll send a few of us that way. In the meantime, I've noticed that the numbers of monsters flying by overhead are increasing. And they're all heading the way we came from. That implies we are getting closer to their source and so, once we get there, the more people we have around, the better. Right?"

"Yes, Cecil," Golbez admitted in resignation.

"Oh, and by the way, Golbez – would you mind slowly down a bit? We'd hate to lose track of you in this maze down here."

"Yes, Cecil . . ."

More time passed, and soon they were enough of the monsters in the passageway that they were forced to destroy them in order to pass. After cutting through a cloud of cyclopians and gaining entry into a larger chamber, Cecil caught up to Golbez and dragged him back to the rest of the group. "Show us where we are on that map of yours."

"Right." Golbez immediately complied, withdrawing the reinforced sheet from a pocket up his sleeve. "I think we are . . . uh . . . not that . . ." Golbez mumbled the foreign words of a spell, and the picture on the sheet changed. "Down another level . . . yes. Here – we're right here!" He jabbed his finger at a large cave that was outlined on the map.

Cecil squinted at it, and tried to determined which of the other colored splotches represented the caves and halls they had just passed through. "So, where are we heading next?"

"Hm." Golbez held the map up, exactly parallel with the floor. He chanted another spell, and a translucent, three-dimensional representation of the caves appeared above the map. Some of the group members softly expressed their surprise, but Golbez ignored them. "There are two other routes that exit this cave. One is heavily used, and the other one is labeled as having been blocked off by rockslide. I would guess we want the latter, since Zemus would have wanted to hide this plague somewhere that the Lunarians would not be likely to go – hey!" Golbez crushed the map to his chest to try to protect it from the cyclopians. They pulled at Golbez's clothes and hair, and scratched his arms, trying to get their claws on the map.

Cecil hesitated a moment, then smacked several monsters away with the pummel of his sword. The cyclopians were persistent – hungry for the magic in the map – and Kain had to come to his aid as well, in order to buy Golbez enough time to shove the map back up his sleeve, out of the monsters' reach.

"Come on," Golbez grunted as he drew his sword and slashed it through a trio of monsters that were chirping in his face. "We need to press forward quickly. We'll have to ignore them as much as possible." Without waiting for the others, Golbez sprinted across the room, looking for a hole in the wall that would mark the blocked passage. At first, he could not find it, but then at last noticed a crevice that cyclopians were crawling out of. _That's __got__ to be it! I was right _–_ ha! I told FuSoYa that I could figure it out!_ "In here!"

Cid tsked as he got closer. "There's no way I'm squeezing through that, Golbez."

"This is where they're coming from. We have to go this way!"

"Do you have an idea, Cid?" Cecil asked.

The old engineer already had a pair of small orbs in his hands. "Just stand back."

The resulting explosions drove the monsters wild and set them wailing – but it did clear enough space for the invaders to scramble through.

"This tunnel isn't caved in," Kain observed loudly as they walked. "Only the entrance was."

"Zemus's trick, no doubt," Golbez mumbled under his breath. He ducked to avoid a quartet of monsters, then cut down the next two. The path made a sharp right, descended steeply, and then leveled out into . . . a hole just high enough to crawl through, even with the monsters steadily emerging from it. The wall here was more a pile of boulders than solid rock, so another of Cid's bombs might make it collapse rather than clear a space. _Just lovely. I hope everybody else in their armor can squeeze through._ He stuck his sword back in its sheath, crouched down, and started crawling through. The ceiling height varied, and there was one place he had to pull himself through solely with his hands. His head collided with a cyclopian, and it started berating him loudly.

_(Claustrophobic in there, Golbez?)_

_(No. I told you, my problem isn't claustrophobia!_ _My problem is more like . . . when I'm confined . . . and alone . . . I start to . . .)_ _Hear things. See things that aren't there . . . _Just starting to speak of this brought up years of memories from Zot, when he'd almost convinced himself that the outside world was just a dream. Golbez shuddered. _Why am I telling him this? And why right __now__, of all times!_

_(Never mind!!)_ Golbez snapped back at Kain, abruptly ending the conversation.He then wriggled through the last section, and gratefully stood and brushed most of the silvery dust off of his tunic. He surveyed the chamber, which seemed only five yards tall, but was long and dimly illuminated. He could only guess at the ceiling height, though, because his view of it was obscured by cyclopians. Golbez drew his sword to have it ready, but strangely, the monsters left him alone. In fact, they seemed totally unaware of his presence. _I wonder, could they sleep and fly at the same time?_

Cecil and the rest of the group slowly crawled out into the room as well. As they emerged, they also studied the passive, softly humming monsters with a bit of trepidation.

Jared scowled over at Golbez and broke the silence. "Okay, you – where now?"

Golbez glanced once more at the hovering monsters, then quickly yanked out the map again. He squinted at the map, and slowly turned it around. "This chamber . . . isn't shown here . . ." Golbez bit his lip and walked the length of the room. "There's an exit at both ends, but the monsters aren't presently moving . . ."

"What's that over there?" Cecil asked.

"What–?" Golbez looked in the direction Cecil pointed, and saw some object down at the far end of the chamber had begun flickering. It appeared to be a sort of small pedestal or table atop a low, raised platform. Green energy shimmered across the surface, then started to bulge upward. The energy continued stretching until it suddenly broke off and became a free-floating bubble of magic. As everyone stared, the bubble burst and became a single cyclopian that stretched and yawned, then fluttered up to join the mass of others.

"So, that's it then?" Rosa asked, a little incredulously.

Cecil shrugged. "It seems so." He kept the Excalibur ready in his hand and took several swift steps closer.

Red lightning darted from the ground under Cecil's feet, and crisscrossed around the entire chamber. The ground shuddered, and the walls began to grate and vibrate.

"It's booby-trapped!" Golbez yelled completely unnecessarily. Cracks were forming in the walls and ceiling. Several large rocks fell. "We need to get out of here – Cecil!"

While most of the Baronians were already following Golbez's advice, Cecil broke into a run for the pedestal. "It's the source of the trap too, right? So if I smash it, it'll stop!"

"Cecil!" Golbez sprinted across the room. _He could be right. But if he isn't –_

"Hey! Your majesty–!" Jared started to follow, but jumped back just before an entire wall's worth of rocks came down on him.

Cecil meanwhile reached the strange artifact, which resembled a half-spherical basin set on a short, stone pillar. The whole thing came up just to his waist. He raised the Excalibur over his head, and with all his strength brought the magical blade down on the glowing pedestal. His sword cut right through the basin part. The green energy contracted and disappeared, and the pedestal exploded with a force that threw Cecil backwards. And then green streaks of energy zoomed across the entirety of the chamber.

In a rush, the entire floor crumbled beneath their feet, carrying Cecil and Golbez down with it. As soon as the rocks settled, Cecil struggled to his feet and watched numbly as the rugged, gray stones completely sealed them off from the rest of the party. He could only hope the others weren't buried in it. "Golbez, can you use magic to get us back up there?"

"I can try. But until the cave settles, I don't dare, since I might just bring more of it down." He paused, testing the magical field of the chamber. "There's a powerful source of energy in here! Warping or teleporting are both blocked . . ."

**Oooooooeeeaaaauuuuurrrrrrrr!**

The brothers simultaneously turned around to face where the fragments of the pedestal lay. Green energy was still flickering across the broken stones, and it jumped down to the floor of the new chamber. The ground rock cracked like it were no thicker than an eggshell, and something dark and slimy pushed its way upward into the cave.

Annoying crooning above their heads alerted them to the presence of some cyclopians that had somehow survived the cave-in and followed them down. Golbez glanced up, and saw a handful of very dusty monsters climbing through a crack to join a dozen or so that were happily zipping around the remains of the ceiling.

**Oooooaaaaeellcome.** The dark thing straightened up to a full height of eight feet. Dark slime trickled off its body, revealing something that was not remotely human. Its face approximated some bizarre sea creature, and its body appeared to be made of a dense mass of dark gray fibers. It opened a large mouth full elongated, yellow teeth, and rasped **Welcome to your final resting place, fools!**


	18. In the Depths

_I don't own FFIV. I'm sure you guessed that already. As always, I welcome all feedback, including suggestions for improvement. Especially pointing out mechanical errors or plotholes. _

_Continuing on from the cliffhanger, here's the next chapter. Enjoy. :)_

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**How to Save the Environment in Two Easy Steps**

_**Step One – kill a lot of monsters.**_

_**Step Two – make the Lunarians go away.**_

_by Maelstra_

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**Chapter Eighteen – In the Depths**

Cecil squared the Excalibur in front of him. "What are you?" he demanded of the monster, eyeing it warily and searching for potential weak points. _Why does it look so familiar?_

The monster laughed, confident in its power. **I am Zemus! Tremble before me!**

"No –!" Cecil took a step back. The monster did indeed bear a strong resemblance to Zeromus, Zemus's demonic, undead form. "You can't be . . . Zemus is dead!"

**I am . . . the pure essence of Zemus! I can never die! Mwahahaha!** The monster drew itself up to its full height and grinned down on the two half-Lunarians.

"Just ignore it," Golbez hissed to Cecil. "It's just some old golem of Zemus's that's gotten delusions of grandeur." And with that, Golbez charged forward and slashed at the gigantic monster's torso with his sword. The blade bounced off, throwing him off balance. _What? Is this one immune to physical attacks?_ Golbez jumped back, avoiding a swipe from that monster that might have taken off his arm. He spit out words of magic, and hurriedly cast Firaga, Blizzaga, and Thundaga in quick succession. None of the three appeared to phase the golem at all.

"Let me try!" Cecil rushed up and brought the Excalibur down on the monster's neck. The blade cut deep, drawing black blood. The monster reflexively struck Cecil and knocked him aside, but the Paladin was not hurt, so he promptly scrambled back to his feet and ran up to attack again.

"Holy magic. Of course," Golbez grumbled as he watched Cecil hack at the monster, feeling resigned to uselessness for the remainder of the battle. That really chafed. _Surely there must be something I can do to aid Cecil . . ._

**Accursed white power!** The monster began casting a spell, drawing on its dark essences for power. The whole chamber seemed to become cooler as black tendrils of energy gathered into the golem's hands. **You've ceased to be amusing. Now you die!**

Rather than move out of the way, Cecil stabbed his magic blade into the monster's torso once more. The monster, however, did not lose its concentration. It completed the spell, and Golbez dove forward at that moment, shoving his way to stand between his brother and the golem with its spell.

The cave was flooded with darkness that seemed to claw at Cecil's flesh and freeze the very air he tried to breathe. In reflex he threw his hands over his eyes and mumbled a healing spell to try to counter the damage being done. He might have lost consciousness for a moment – he was not sure. By the time he opened his eyes again and they grudgingly cooperated, he could see Zemus's golem had called down the lingering cyclopians. It grabbed one in its claws, and the little monster crumbled to dust, but in the process, a few sparkles of regenerative energy transferred to its parent monster.

At that point, Cecil noticed the dead weight lying across his legs. "Golbez?" He shook his brother's shoulder, but got no response. Cecil bit his lip, then glanced up again at the large monster that was regenerating itself, cyclopian by cyclopian. "There's not enough time . . . hold on just a little longer, okay?" Cecil pled with his brother, then stood. His balance was shaky, but not too bad. Good enough that Cecil could slash through the hovering cyclopians, making them disintegrate, and then stab the monster in the area that resembled its throat.

**You still survive?!** The golem waved a hand, and a cloud of cyclopians flew at Cecil and tried to scratch his eyes. The monster continued speaking after a moment, **But you are no mage . . . Ha! Try your precious little sword against me now!**

The little flying monsters relented, and Cecil was finally able to open his eyes and see that the golem's skin had gone thick and gray. With a sinking in his stomach, he suspected what it had done – he tried the edge of his blade against it anyway, and verified that Excalibur could no longer penetrate its skin. The monster laughed in response. _But it's still hurt . . ._ Cecil destroyed a dozen more cyclopians before it finally got annoyed with him again, and blasted him across the room with Thundaga.

Cecil hit his head on the rock wall, which made his ears ring. He noticed the monster had thrown him back near Golbez. Cecil cautiously glanced up at the golem – it was still watching him intently. Cecil held his breath. Then after a moment, the golem seemed to conclude he posed no immediate threat, and it looked up to the ceiling and called down more of its little creatures to heal it.

While it was distracted, Cecil crawled over to Golbez's side. He reached into his pouch and took inventory, cursing his shortsightedness in delegating most of his healing supplies to others. He had only one packet of phoenix down, which he immediately laid on Golbez. The white feathers dissolved and created a golden glow of magic – but Golbez still did not stir. Cecil cursed and pulled out the remaining contents of his pouch. The ether and one potion he used on himself. The other potion, he dumped on top of Golbez, and then he tried to pour the hi-potion down his throat. "Come on . . . wake up," Cecil whispered urgently, nudging his brother.

Finally Golbez stirred with a groan, and half-opened one eye.

"It transformed so I can't hurt it now," Cecil explained in a rush. "I need you to try hitting it with magic."

"Help me sit up?" Golbez whispered hoarsely. "I need to see it . . ."

Cecil quickly complied, helping Golbez to an almost-sitting position. Golbez muttered the nonsensical, magical syllables as quickly as he could pronounce them. The golem turned then and noticed them – it started a spell as well. But Golbez finished first. Fiery meteors appeared from nowhere and smashed into the golem and its cyclopians over and over.

The cyclopians crooned cheerfully as they took the magical assault, completely absorbing its awesome power. The golem, on the other hand, burst into flames. **Geeerraaauuuggh!** It flailed around in agony, then as soon as the spell ceased, it spread its arms and clasped two dozen cyclopians close – they all disappeared in a burst of ash, giving their power to the monster. The golem shimmered all over as its skin became its original black, giving it immunity to magical attacks. It called out wordlessly, and a hundred more cyclopians scrambled down through the ceiling, ready to donate their life magic to the golem.

Cecil groaned. "It'll take forever to kill it with physical attacks if it keeps healing itself."

"It'll run out of cyclopians eventually," Golbez observed drily, though not at all hopefully, as he watched the little creatures exert all their energy to reach their master monster as quickly as they could. In the process, they knocked loose some rocks. A few struck the golem, and it hissed in annoyance. Suddenly Golbez had an idea.

"Can you use your magic to boost my power somehow?" Cecil asked as he left Golbez to scramble over to where his sword lay among the rocks.

"I've got a better idea," Golbez countered. His whole body ached from the strain of trying to sit up, so he shifted position so that he half-lay on his left side. Moving hurt, but the new position took less energy to maintain. "We need help. You go try to climb back out and reach the others. Make sure they're alright. Meanwhile, I think I know a spell that will injure it."

"You're sure?" Cecil hesitated. He glanced at the golem, which was no longer burning, and was still absorbing cyclopians. _It won't ignore us much longer . . ._ But he was torn by the mention of the others, especially thinking of Rosa and worrying over whether she had been caught in the initial rockslide . . .

"Yes. Hurry!" The urgency in Golbez's voice spurred Cecil into action. The king sheathed Excalibur, skipped over the uneven terrain, then surveyed the wall of rubble. From where he stood, he could faintly hear Golbez carefully murmuring the familiar cadences of a spell. But he could see no crack or fissure to indicate the remains of the chamber they had fallen from. As Cecil contemplated climbing anyway, he noticed a gap between two large boulders on the ground, and without hesitation he squeezed through to get a better look. It was fairly dark in the space beyond – but Cecil felt a breath of wind brush against his face, hinting that perhaps this chamber would connect to the rest of the tunnels. He straightened, and almost started to run, but an inexplicable concern about Golbez made him back up and squeeze back into the monster-infested chamber.

He could just hear Golbez chanting a long phrase that he remembered hearing just a moment ago. _Meteo? But isn't it immune . . . ?_ Then Cecil saw Golbez glance upward at the weakened ceiling, and he caught on to what his brother had in mind.

Golbez heard Cecil come up beside him, and stopped abruptly in his spell-chanting, his face turning white in dismay. Cecil clapped a hand on Golbez's shoulder. "Finish the spell. I found a cave. We can make a run for it."

"No, Cecil! Please, get clear! I . . . I'll never make it, I can barely move!"

"Then I'll carry you." Cecil looped Golbez's arm over his shoulder and started to pull Golbez up to standing.

"Cecil, don't –!"

"Stop arguing with me. I'm not leaving you," Cecil declared adamantly as he succeeded in getting Golbez on his feet, though supporting most of the taller man's weight himself.

Golbez hissed in protest – but he was far too weak to force Cecil to do anything. And if this didn't work, the monster was just going to kill them both anyway. "Fine!" Golbez muttered the remaining phrases of power, aimed the focus of the spell approximately a mile straight up in the rock, and then concluded with the activating word: "Meteo."

Cecil started dragging Golbez immediately, and Golbez did his best to help, though his feet were reluctant to move. The first of the magical meteors smashed right through the chamber's ceiling with incredible strength as it tried to reach its impossibly distant target. More meteors followed the first, and the cave began collapsing in a cascading effect from the center outward. The cyclopians dissolved as they were hit by falling boulders, and the insane golem wailed as it was struck repeatedly by large rocks. It fired off several reflexive spells, but only hit Cecil with a glancing shot.

The air was filling up with dust and becoming hard to breathe, but Cecil continued grimly onward, giving everything he had left to reach the passage. Rocks from the first slide were coming loose again, to make matters still more difficult. Cecil felt a sharp pain on the top of his head, and suddenly it was very hard to focus. He thought that he made it to the tunnel. And he thought that he shoved Golbez through before struggling through the gap himself. But he wasn't quite sure of anything now, as everything hurt, and the world was rushing into black . . .


	19. The Chapter That Would Not Cooperate

_I don't own FFIV. I'm sure you guessed that already. As always, I welcome all feedback, including suggestions for improvement. Especially pointing out mechanical errors or plotholes. _

_Finally, finally I got this finished! The chapter title says it all. Add to that the fact that I was sick for months and just didn't feel like writing._

_Anyway, I don't want to whine too much, I just thought the long delay in updating required some explanation. Thank you all for your patience. Just one chapter to go (unless it splits into two again, like this one did)._

* * *

**How to Save the Environment in Two Easy Steps**

_**Step One – kill a lot of monsters.**_

_**Step Two – make the Lunarians go away.**_

_by Maelstra_

* * *

**Chapter Nineteen – The Chapter That Would Not Cooperate**

Cecil gradually became aware of his surroundings. The ceiling above him was gray and smooth; whatever he was laying on was soft and comforting to his weak, aching body.

"Cecil? Are you finally awake?" Kain appeared from the side and looked down at Cecil, his voice anxious.

"I . . . guess so . . ." Cecil tried to turn his head, but could see little more. "What happened?"

"You pulled down half the cave on top of you," Kain replied drily.

"I . . . remember that part. I meant . . . after that." Cecil was amazed how raspy his voice sounded.

"Ah, well . . . So after the second quake, FuSoYa appeared out of nowhere and dragged us through more caves to a spot near where you were buried. I guess Golbez called him or something. Anyway, so then he helped us dig you out. And we brought you here. And Rosa and FuSoYa have been tending to you ever since. That's basically all that's happened."

Cecil noted the fact that Kain said nothing of his brother's condition. "And what of Golbez?"

Kain hesitated and made a face. "He's pretty bad off – he wasn't wearing any armor, after all." Abruptly, Kain switched to a forced-optimistic tone. "But still, he's lasted this long – he'll probably make it yet. So don't worry about him."

Cecil sighed and closed his eyes, yet again puzzling over his brother's motives. _Did you accomplish what you hoped to, Golbez? Is __this__ what you want me to remember you like?_ Cecil frowned, then gave up thinking on the subject. There was nothing he could do about Golbez at the moment. And there were other pressing worries still troubling his mind. It took some effort to force his eyes to open again, but Cecil wanted to be looking Kain right in the eye as he asked. "What about your group? Is everyone alright?"

Kain watched intently as Cecil struggled once again to keep his eyelids from falling closed. "It's nothing you need to concern yourself with right now, your majesty."

"Kain . . ." Cecil protested in irritation.

"Okay, fine. Collectively, we sustained a lot of bruises, a few odd broken bones . . . Gregory managed to get a concussion. But everyone's okay now, so you don't have to worry about them, either. Just worry about yourself."

"No, Kain, I need to–"

"Go back to sleep Cecil. Everything's under control. And no one's going anywhere for a while – especially you."

"But . . ." Cecil let his eyes rest, just for a moment, while he tried to think of a suitable comeback to Kain's insubordination. But just as he was in the midst of framing the perfect one-liner, Cecil dozed off again.

Cecil awoke again, some time later, this time feeling much better than before. He pushed back the blanket covering him and sat up carefully.

"Cecil! Finally!" Rosa swooped down on her husband and caught him in an intense, passionate kiss. Cecil was startled, but didn't protest.

When Rosa finally pulled away, Cecil smiled and quipped, "So sorry to keep you waiting, dear . . ."

"Oh, you!" Rosa lightly shoved his shoulder. "I've been so worried!"

"I'm sorry," Cecil repeated. He gently brushed some stray hairs back from the side of her face, noting as he did so the dark circles of exhaustion under her eyes. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Cecil." She caught his hand in her own. "I've just been helping tend to the wounded . . . and I was so worried about you I could hardly sleep." She broke off into a wry laugh. "And once FuSoYa decided to use a spell to help me sleep, that's when you finally wake up!"

"Sorry . . ." Cecil grinned sheepishly. "At least I'm awake now."

"Yes . . ." Rosa leaned closer, and they naturally fell into another kiss, this one much longer and less frantic than the first.

They finally separated to breathe, and Cecil let his eyes roam around the full chamber now. "So, Rosa . . . what is this place?"

"The Lunarians' Healing Chamber." Rosa looked around at everything as she said it, even though she had certainly already seen the whole room before. "It sort of makes all of Cid's inventions look primitive, doesn't it?"

Cecil could not help but agree with his wife. Even the technology on the Lunar Whale, the greatest Lunarian work Cecil had ever previously seen, looked cheap and flimsy in comparison with this. There were no harsh metal panels, control panels, or machinery as he was used to. It was all smooth, pastel shapes arranged aesthetically around the large chamber. The bed he was sitting on had no sharp edges, and seamlessly connected to the floor. Like on the Lunar Whale, a framework like that for a canopy arched over the healing bed – but while that was a metal framework holding up tubes that emitted green light, this was made of thin tubes like transparent reeds that seemed impossibly slender to hold up their own weight. On the opposite side of the chamber was another bed similar to his, vacant and ready for use.

Cecil glanced downward to study a sort of table that was attached to one side of his bed, just beside his arm. Just for curiosity's sake, Cecil lightly ran his fingers across its surface. To his surprise, a squarish portion of the surface lit up, and displayed some sort of report written in an unknown hand, divided into different sections and color coded. Cecil stared at the glowing display, but whatever details it was displaying meant nothing to him. _I suppose that could be . . . the statistics of my present health. But that's incredible, that these devices can gather so much information just from a touch!_

Cecil breathed softly, "Has Cid seen this place?"

"Yes," Rosa giggled. "And it's giving him fits."

Cecil snorted at his imagination's rendition of Cid. He drew back his hand, and the magical display faded back into silvery gray.

"FuSoYa is happy to try to explain, of course," Rosa continued. "But the technology here is just so far beyond what the Blue Planet has that it's hard to find any reference points to start with . . ."

Cecil just nodded. "I think I can see now – a little better – why FuSoYa was so enthusiastic about sharing this with us. It's truly amazing . . ." But somehow, this train of thought brought up Golbez's scowling face, heard an echo of his words to FuSoYa, _'How much of the Blue Planet would it destroy to create this?'_ That sobering thought darkened Cecil's expression, led him into staring off at nothing as he thought. _What would be the cost to create this? Do my people really __need__ this? Could they use it? Actually . . . what would it take for them to learn __how__ to use such technology? If even Cid can't make much sense of it . . ._

Cecil glanced back up at Rosa, who was still right beside him, patiently waiting for her husband to finish brooding. Cecil started to speak, but he had a dozen different things he wanted to say, and so he paused. Finally, he went with, "I suppose I should go see to the Blue Planet forces. If they're still here, that is."

"Many of them are," Rosa informed him. "The Damcyans and Fabulians all went back already. Edge refused to leave the fight, though, and his people didn't feel right to leave without him. The dwarves are still here as well, helping to stabilize the rockslide area."

"Is there still a danger from the cyclopian monsters?" Cecil asked as he slowly stood up, finding his legs distinctly sore, just as they had been the last time he had broken one and had it healed by magic. He also finally noticed that he was clothed in a pastel-colored tunic, pants, and socks, not his own. _I guess I wouldn't really want my old clothes anymore. A pity – I liked that tunic._

"Well, no . . . I guess I should clarify. Without the . . . main guiding intelligence behind them, the cyclopians are pretty much harmless. A lot of them seem to have forgotten how to fly, and they're all very passive. Besides that, the native moon monsters seem to find them delicious. So we don't have to worry about them now.

"But in the meantime, Edge has come up with . . . some sort of game. I'm not sure what the rules are, but the point of it seems to involve destroying the monsters. Most of the Baronian guards have also joined in, while waiting for you to heal."

The king made a face as he tried to imagine what Edge might be up to. Whatever it was, he was certain he ought to disapprove of his own men participating. "Ri-ight. I think it's time we went home."

"I agree," Rosa smiled and offered Cecil an arm. "I think they put what was left of your clothes and armor just over there."

Cecil took her arm. "Thank you, my lady."

The wall that Cecil thought was the edge of the chamber was actually just a divider of sorts. On the other side of it were more beds, each in their own alcove, identical or very similar to the one Cecil had just occupied. Rosa led him toward a section that had transparent storage containers stacked in twos or threes. Cecil noticed that one of the other beds was occupied, and hesitated. Without a word, Rosa led him across the room in the direction of his gaze.

Golbez looked poor indeed, his body mostly covered by a light blanket, and the parts of his skin visible still deeply bruised despite however many days he had been here in the Lunarians' care. At least he was visibly breathing, which gave Cecil some comfort, and bolstered his hope that his brother would make a full recovery. _I've got quite a bit more to say to you now, and you're not getting out of it so easily._

"He's doing much better, now," Rosa said softly.

"Really? I'm glad. Kain didn't make it sound too good."

"Well, it's been a full two days since you talked to Kain."

"What?" Cecil spun to face Rosa.

She met his gaze with a faint smile and shrug. "You weren't so good off yourself." Rosa bit her lip and glanced away, looking at the wall – or more likely, reliving a memory. "When we dug you out . . . it looked like you had been trying to shield Golbez . . . That's probably the only reason he survived. But if your armor hadn't stood up to the brunt of the rockslide . . ."

Cecil also looked away, gazing vacantly at the floor beyond his brother's supine form. "Rosa, I . . ." Cecil faltered. He frowned and stood silent a moment, trying to organize his thoughts into something coherent. But the words he wanted remained just out of reach.

Cecil turned back to his wife and saw tears beading up in her eyes. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close to him. "Thank you," he whispered, trying to convey a hundred additional things with just those words and his shaky embrace.

Rosa sniffled and released a gentle sigh, seeming to understand.

Cecil just held her several heartbeats longer, then finally exhaled loudly and broke the silence. "How about we go see what Kain and the others have gotten up to?"


	20. Farewells and Conclusions

_I don't own FFIV. I'm sure you guessed that already. As always, I welcome all feedback, including suggestions for improvement. Especially pointing out mechanical errors or plotholes. _

_It's done! I'll save the rest of my comments for the ending note. I hope you all like this final chapter of the story.

* * *

_

**How to Save the Environment in Two Easy Steps**

_**Step One – kill a lot of monsters.**_

_**Step Two – make the Lunarians go away.**_

_by Maelstra_

* * *

**Chapter Twenty – Farewells and Conclusions**

A week later, as Cecil was giving audience in his throne room, Captain Jared Farrell jogged in and motioned frantically for Cecil's attention.

"What is it?" Cecil whispered, concern mounting.

"The Lunarians are back, and they demand to speak with you immediately!" Jared replied in a hoarse whisper.

Oh. The Lunarians – and of course his guards would assume Golbez was with them, hence Jared's concern. Cecil felt a lump form in his throat, realizing that he probably ought to tell Jared the full story about Golbez, and soon. But not quite yet. "They're harmless, Jared. I give you my word. Don't get the other guards riled up this time, though, just go ahead and bring the Lunarians on in."

"Yes, your majesty." Jared turned and left quickly, but he didn't argue further, for which Cecil was glad.

Cecil sighed loudly, then returned his attention to the merchant he had just been talking to. "Thank you for bringing the matter to my attention. I'll consider your proposal and get back to you soon." Cecil caught the eye of one of his four guards currently assigned to the throne room. "Ashton, will you please escort this gentleman out?"

"Certainly, your majesty."

The red-haired guard did so with great efficiency, ignoring the merchant's half-hearted protests as he guided him to a side door. Cecil sat down on his throne and pressed a hand to his forehead while taking deep breaths. "Tael?"

"Yes, your majesty?"

"Would you please tell the queen and Captain Highwind that I require their presence in the throne room. And King Edge, too, if you can find him."

The guard just nodded and slipped out the side door without a word.

Before the door could close all the way, it was wrenched all the way open and Cid barreled in. "Blast it, Cecil, what do those Lunarians think they're trying to do?!"

Cecil grinned despite himself, and despite the fury boiling in Cid's eyes, because he was so glad at least one person wasn't calling him 'your majesty' constantly. "I don't know yet, Cid." Cecil motioned to the main, double door that Jared was just opening ceremoniously. "They've only just arrived. Promise me you won't yell or threaten them, and I'll let you listen in. Deal?"

"Hmph." Cid's whiskers twitched as he made a face. "Oh, fine! But only if they don't try to start anything."

"Thank you, Cid." Cecil heard the side door open again and glanced over. Kain entered the room, and took up a defensible position on Cecil's right. Rosa came in after, and she took her place in the throne by Cecil's side. Cecil reached over and took her hand, and smiled gratefully at her. She returned the smile.

FuSoYa led his entourage across the chamber, having only six or so others with him this time, who all moved together in one tight mass. FuSoYa carried his staff loosely until he came within several yards of the thrones, then he smacked it loudly against the floor for dramatic effect. "Cecil, we have come to bid farewell to the people of the Blue Planet," he pronounced, skipping any preamble and getting straight to the point.

Cecil started, caught off guard. "You're leaving already, uncle?"

"Yes . . ." FuSoYa bowed his head. "We have cleaned up what little damage Zemus's monsters did to our facilities on the moon, and have retrieved all our devices from this world. There is nothing that remains for us to be done here." He paused a moment, then meaningfully added, "Unless there is anything else you wish to discuss . . . ?"

Cecil bit his lip and tried not to flinch under FuSoYa's intense gaze. He was not sure how well succeeded. "Uncle, we already discussed this. You and your people are welcome to stay here, of course . . . but the Blue Planet is not yet ready for Lunarian technology. If you could try living without most of it . . ."

"No, Cecil." FuSoYa should his head. "It is as I told you last time. Our world is gone. We cannot abandon what remains of our culture, the work and invention of ages!" He leaned against his staff, clutching it with both hands. "It is too much to ask us to give it all up."

"But KluYa . . ." Cecil tried again.

"My brother . . . was always more liberal-minded than most of us. But while I never agreed with him, I did . . . respect him, and his choices." FuSoYa came a few steps closer, dropping his voice. "I sense the echo of his spirit, lingering here on this world, rather than back on the moon with his people. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. But I can also see that a part of him lives on in you, and that pleases me greatly. Cecil . . . I know we don't completely understand each others' point of view, but . . . I hope you realize I only wanted to help you, all the people of this world."

"I know, uncle," Cecil replied softly.

FuSoYa's face slowly lifted in a smile. "So stubborn. Just like your father . . . Ha! And well . . . you deserve to know . . . I'm certain that KluYa would be very proud of you – and that he would approve of the choices you have made."

Cecil was amazed, not at all expecting his uncle to admit to such a thing. "Um . . . thank you . . ."

While Cecil was still at a loss for words, FuSoYa spun around to face his flock of white-haired Lunarians again. "And now, I believe it is time for us to depart. Farewell, children of the Blue Planet! May the stars bless you!" He glanced back at Cecil and added in a quieter voice, "I wish you the best, nephew. Guide this world with your wisdom. And maybe, someday . . . the peoples of our two worlds will join together again."

"I hope so, uncle. Someday – when the Blue Planet is ready."

FuSoYa snorted, but smiled, and he strode back over to his group. They waited for him, but then as they turned to leave, one of them hesitated, then stepped out of the shelter of the center of the group. Cecil heard metallic chinks as all the guards in the chamber tensed and drew their weapons.

Golbez, who still had yellow traces of bruises marring his face, bit his lip and shifted his weight nervously between his feet. "Cecil?" he asked quietly. "If I might . . . speak with you a moment . . . ?"

"Golbez . . . Of course." Cecil stood and crossed the room to where his brother stood, ignoring the murmurs as he passed. "I didn't expect you to be up so soon."

Golbez smiled faintly. "Lunarian medical technology . . . is quite impressive."

"Yes . . ." Cecil tried to force a sympathetic laugh, but it sounded empty. Strange – after several days in which he'd thought of a hundred different things he wanted to ask or say to his brother . . . now his mind was completely blank.

Golbez searched Cecil's face intently for a moment, then redirected his gaze down to the floor, and whispered so softly that no one else could hear him, "I wanted to thank you, brother . . . for giving me another chance."

"Oh, no . . . I should be thanking you." Cecil planted a hand on Golbez's shoulder. "When we were fighting that golem monster – I couldn't have done it without you. I owe you my life."

Golbez met his gaze and smiled, a sincere smile. "Don't mention it, Cecil. I was glad I could help."

"Yes . . . um . . ." Cecil found himself still drawing a blank for something profound to say. He felt awkward, but since this was the last time he would be seeing his brother . . . "I'm . . . glad to see you're alright. I was really . . . worried about you."

In response, Golbez pressed his lips together tightly, like he was fighting back tears. "Thank you . . . Cecil."

"Don't mention it," Cecil returned, confused by Golbez's reaction.

The main doors to the chamber slammed open, breaking the intimacy of the moment. "Heeey, Cecil! What can the magnificent Edge help you with now?"

Golbez just stared, open-mouthed, while Cecil groaned and covered his face with his hands. "Why right now, of all times?"

Edge sauntered over, belatedly realizing that Cecil was less than thrilled to see him. "What?" Edge eyed Golbez piercingly, then asked Cecil, "He giving you trouble?"

"No, Edge."

"Oh. Well then . . . guess who I found visiting the town of Mist." Edge glanced back at the door, and yelled, "Come on in and say 'hi' to Cecil!"

After a moment, Rydia slowly entered the room, dressed in plain traveling clothing, but still distinct with her bright green hair. She took in the whole scene at a glance, rolled her eyes at Edge, then waved politely at Cecil and remained standing where she was.

Edge made a face at Rydia's aloofness, but then continued loudly, "So anyways, like I was saying, I was traveling through the woods, looking for an opponent worthy of my vast talents, when suddenly I –"

"Edge, please, not right now," Cecil interrupted.

Golbez cleared his throat, looking self-conscious, and muttered, "I . . . should be . . . going . . ." He tried to back away, but Edge stopped him.

"Hey, Golby! How's it going? You're still alive, I see. Hey . . . what did you ever do with that wicked sword of yours?"

"Um . . ." Golbez glanced at Cecil, seemingly asking _'is this guy really serious?'_ "I believe my sword was buried in the rockslide on the moon."

"Oh. Aren't you going to go get it?"

"I . . . wasn't planning on it."

"That's too bad," Edge frowned. "That looked like a really good sword. I broke the Murasame on this gigantic rock dragon, and I could use a new one . . ."

Golbez raised an eyebrow, then shook his head in resignation. "If you want it badly enough to dig through several tons of rock, it's all yours."

"Hm . . . nah. I don't have that kind of time. My talents –"

"Edge . . ." Cecil said pointedly.

Golbez backed away from both the monarchs. "I'm sorry . . . I must be going," he said hurriedly. "Farewell, Cecil . . . Edge . . . everyone." Golbez started to look around at the people present in the room, and then he hesitated once more. He swallowed once, then in a louder voice, said, "I . . . wish to apologize to all of you. To all those I hurt . . . whether personally or indirectly." He glanced back at Cecil, apparently seeking approval, then continued. "I truly wish that things had gone differently. I wish there was a way to repair all the damage I have caused. But . . . I don't have that kind of power. And maybe . . . some of these wounds are too deep to ever heal." Golbez looked into many of the eyes fixated on him, then looked down to the floor in shame. "I'm sorry, but . . ." He paused, then reconsidered what he had been about to say. "Farewell, everyone." Without another glance at anyone, Golbez turned and strode quickly toward the doorway, where the Lunarians were still waiting.

Cecil watched Golbez go, now suddenly able to remember the questions he had had about his mother and father and Zemus. He couldn't ask such things now, or in such company. _Maybe this is for the best?_ he mused.

"Cecil!" Kain hissed in his ear.

Cecil almost jumped at the interruption, and glared at his old friend. "What?"

Kain made a point of looking right at Golbez, then made eye contact with Cecil and quirked an eyebrow meaningfully. Though Cecil could not reads Kain's mind, the expression plainly said, _'Aren't you forgetting something important?'_

"What?" Cecil repeated, a little annoyed, but Kain only shrugged and looked away nonchalantly. Cecil snorted and tried to puzzle out what Kain was hinting at. Nothing was occurring to him. He directed a glare at Kain who now was just ignoring him.

Cecil looked around the room, seeking answers from someone else, and was suddenly struck by a sense of deja vu. It took him a moment to identify the cause, but as he counted the familiar faces, he realized that this current scene was almost an exact recreation of when he'd said farewell to his brother the first time, on the Lunarian moon. Even all the same people were present, all waiting, all eyes on him . . .

"Golbez . . . wait."

Golbez stopped and turned to face Cecil again, some desperate, nameless emotion evident on his face. Now Cecil was fully aware that everyone was staring at him. But finally, he had caught on. He knew what Golbez wanted. It was the same thing he had been wordlessly begging for the first time.

Golbez was asking for forgiveness. But there was really only one person's forgiveness he specifically wanted. And last time, Cecil had been either unable or unwilling to give it. Not this time.

"I . . . accept your apology, Golbez," Cecil said slowly, as he crossed the room at the speed of a sleepwalker. "And I . . . don't hold you accountable for the atrocities Zemus made you commit." Cecil paused to swallow. "As Kain was not responsible for his actions while under mind control . . . neither are you."

Golbez seemed to be trembling slightly. "You . . . really mean that . . . Cecil?"

"I do."

With that, Golbez sagged as all tension drained from him. He opened his mouth, but could not appropriate words.

Before Cecil could talk himself out of it, he had more he needed to say. More that must be said, if he was serious about finally forgiving his brother. "And . . . maybe the pain of seeing familiar faces is too great . . . but you don't seem to fit in with the Lunarians either. The final choice must be yours, of course, but . . ." Cecil was now close enough that he could look Golbez in the eye, and he did so, trying to project sincerity into his words. "You are a child of the Blue Planet as much as I am. And so if you wanted to stay here – in Baron at least – you have my permission. Brother." The last word sounded completely like an afterthought, but Cecil counted it a triumph anyway. _I finally said it!_

Golbez started crying, and gasped out, "You really mean it?"

"Yes, Golbez, I really do." Cecil tried his hardest to keep a straight face, not comfortable with men crying, period, and finding it fairly awkward to watch his older brother cry.

Golbez nodded shakily, then whispered, "I want to stay . . . more than anything . . . But will they let me?"

Cecil thought about asking which 'they' Golbez meant, but decided it was probably those whom Cecil could sense were currently glaring daggers into his back. _I'll have to have Rosa talk to Jared again. And to Cid, too._ "It'll work out. Don't worry about it." Now Cecil bit his lip, uncertain again, since such a situation seemed to call for something more.

Finally, Cecil made a conscious decision to just do the first thing that came to mind. He put his arms around his older brother, in the most awkward form of a hug to ever exist in the history of the Blue Planet, and whispered, "Welcome home, brother." He held the hug until the count of five, then quickly let go as embarrassment overcame him.

Golbez did not seem to mind. On the contrary, he seemed quite touched by the gesture, and smiled brightly as he wiped away his own tears.

Cecil glanced across the room to Rosa who smiled in approval. Kain also met Cecil's gaze and smirked in an irritatingly smug manner.

FuSoYa snorted in amusement, and smacked his staff against the floor one last time, for good measure. "Farewell, nephews!" _(Do try to keep out of trouble this time,)_ he added as a telepathic postscript. Then he and the Lunarians finally proceeded down the stairs, out of sight.

And though his throne room erupted into chaos, Cecil felt everything was as it should be. Somehow . . . everything would work out.

And then everyone could finally go home.

* * *

_Do you remember how pitiful Golbez sounded at the end of the game? I thought he sounded like he needed a hug. So he got one. :)_

_I'm so sorry for the delay in posting this. The final chapters of this story were more difficult for me to write than anything else I've ever written. I'm still not totally sure why._

_But anyway, this concludes the story. I don't anticipate a sequel, although an in-game prequel might be interesting. But first I need a break. At last, I can work on other projects without feeling guilty for neglecting this one!_

_**I want to thank all my wonderful reviewers for the feedback and suggestions!! **_

_I'm sorry that Rydia didn't feature more in the story, but it just seemed to make sense since she's a magic caster and couldn't have done much against the monsters. But when Edge wrote himself into the last chapter and dragged Rydia along, I decided to let them both stay (it's scary when characters take over a story . . .)._

_Also, I'm not into slash . . . but I do agree that after everything they went through together, Golbez and Kain must have an interesting sort of bond. That's the main reason I'd want to do a prequel – because I think the only way Kain could've survived the game is because Golbez latched onto him as a friend and didn't want him to die._

_Finally – I don't know if I even want to know what Edge was doing with the cyclopians – but HolyDragoon guessed closest to what I was picturing. Who knows, it might be fun? Grab one, spin it around like you're doing a discus throw, then let it go and see how many you can hit . . ._

_Thank you all, again! Have a wonderful summer!_


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